South, then east. After escaping an upset before its homecoming faithful last week, No. 2-ranked Seattle Pacific University begins the second half of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference schedule on the road this week. The Falcons (9-0, 18-0), riding an 24-game regular season win streak, are still seeking to separate from the pack of challengers behind them in the league standings. In their next-to-last road trip, they go south to visit Saint Martin's (3-4, 7-9) Thursday (Feb. 6) and then east to Idaho and third-place Northwest Nazarene (6-3, 12-5) Saturday (Feb. 8). Next week Seattle Pacific hosts travel partner Central Washington.

A week of change? With regard to standings and rankings, this could prove to be a real interesting week. The Falcons hold a slim lead over Western Washington (6-1, 13-3) in the GNAC and over Cal State Bakersfield (16-1) in the West Region rankings. Nationally, the top five slots are due for another shake-up this weekend. Top-rated South Dakota State (19-0), the only other undefeated team in NCAA Division II, faces a potent 1-2 punch at No. 5 North Dakota Thursday and then hosting No. 7 North Dakota State Saturday. Seattle Pacific is expected to be No. 2 for the eighth week in a row when the new coaches poll is released Wednesday.

Kerie-ing the load. She didn't repeat as GNAC Player of the Week, but it was not due to a lack of performance or effort. Point guard Kerie Hughes (Sr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa.) starred again last week, totaling 33 points (11-22 FGs), 19 assists (only five turnovers) and seven steals in a pair of home-court wins over Alaska Anchorage (90-57) and Alaska Fairbanks (80-72). Hughes proved instrumental to the Falcons' first come-from-behind effort of the New Year. She posted her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 assists as SPU rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to defeat Fairbanks for the 28th consecutive home win. Hughes has reached double figures in scoring in the last seven games, averaging 14.7 points over that span. She is second in GNAC assists (5.53), eighth in three-point percentage (.417), second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.92) and 10th in steals (2.00).

Big shots. Sure, Gordy Presnell would love to see his team breeze to victory, but the coach also wants to see his squad demonstrate character as well as talent, now and then. In the homecoming victory, SPU did just that. They faced their largest deficit of the season, trailed at halftime for only the second time and the eight-point margin was the smallest in two weeks. It provided an opportunity for people to make some clutch plays, plenty of them, in fact. Stephanie Urrutia (Sr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa.) stepped up to score 12 of her 16 points in the second half vs. the Nanooks. Center Kelley Berglund (Sr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Washington State) came alive during a pivotal 14-0 run midway through the half when she scored five of her 11 second-half points. Berglund also grabbed seven of her nine boards after intermission. For the week, Berglund was 12-19 from the floor, scored 31 points and had 21 boards.

No ordinary Smith. While Hughes and Berglund are making strong arguments for GNAC player of the year honors, Carli Smith (Fr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) is at or near the top of the conference's freshman class. Since December, Smith is averaging nearly a double-double (11.1 points, 9.2 boards) while playing just 16.5 minutes per game. Along with Hughes, she kept Seattle Pacific in contention against Fairbanks in the first half, when she played a highly-productive 10 minutes and totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds.

It's a team game. The Falcons continue to share the basketball better than any team in the conference. Last week alone they distributed 47 assists, including a season-high 28 against Alaska Anchorage. Not a single Falcon player ranks in the conference's top 10 in scoring, but the team still manages to put more points on the board (83.9) than anyone else in the GNAC, ranking fifth nationally. Berglund is the team's top scorer yet her current average of 13.5 would be the lowest for an SPU leader in 24 years. The team's field-goal percentage of .505 ranks seventh in the NCAA and is on record-breaking pace. Only one other SPU team has hit above 48 percent for a season (.492 in 1998).

Put-backs. Berglund's double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds vs. Anchorage was her sixth of the season. Smith is next with four...Kristin Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.), rehabilitating a torn MCL in her left knee, returned to practice last week in limited form. She hopes to be back in uniform by next week. After starting the first seven games, Poe has missed the last 11...Fairbanks became the first opponent to shoot over 50 percent this season (.520). The Nanooks were 8-14 beyond the arc but committed 26 turnovers. In fact, each of the last six opponents have finished with at least 22 turnovers...The Falcons lead the GNAC in seven categories, including scoring (83.9), scoring defense (60.0), scoring margin (+23.9), rebounding (+9.7), steals (14.00) and three-point accuracy (.383). Individually, Mandy Wood (Fr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) is first in three-point percentage (.585). Michelle Beaumont (So., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) is third in three-point percentage (.447) and fourth in free throw percentage (.829). Berglund is fourth in rebounding (8.6) and field-goal shooting (.565), and fifth in blocked shots (0.89). Brittney Kroon (Fr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak./Wasilla) is fourth in blocks (1.11). Smith is third in free-throw percentage (.833), sixth in field-goal percentage (.547) and sixth in rebounding (7.4). Urrutia is seventh in assists (3.83), eighth in free-throw percentage (.793) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41). Valerie Gustafson (Jr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) is second in field-goal percentage (.592).

Tickets, please. General admission tickets for all SPU home games are priced at $5 with youth, students and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Reserved seating for doubleheaders including men's games are $7 and $6. Groups or teams can qualify or discounts by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

SPU Coaches. Coach Gordy Presnell reached the 300-victory milestone last season and has never registered a losing season in 15 years at the helm of the Seattle Pacific University basketball program. He took a team that had not recorded a winning record in nine seasons or earned a trip to the postseason and transformed it into a Division II powerhouse. During his tenure, the Falcons have averaged more than 20 wins per season and qualified for the playoffs 11 times, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1998. Joining Presnell's staff this season are two former University of Oregon players. Lindsey Dion served as a volunteer graduate assistant last season when the Ducks won the WNIT title. She played on Oregon's Pac-10 championship team in 2000 and was co-captain of another NCAA tournament team in 2001. Jamie Craighead completed her career last season as Oregon's leader in three-pointers and started all 35 games, averaging 7.9 points.

Missing links. For the latest and best information on Seattle Pacific University athletics, stay where you're at -- on The Falcons Online. For updated standings and statistics, see the Great Northwest Athletic Conference web site.