Perfectly poised. Perfect record still intact, Seattle Pacific University is poised to become the No. 1 women's basketball team in the nation this week, yet it will have precious little time to savor the moment before making preparations to defend that distinction. The new NCAA Division II coaches poll will be announced Wednesday and the Falcons (11-0, 20-0) will swing back into action Saturday night (Feb. 15) when they host Central Washington (6-5, 11-7) in a critical Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest. Its the first date of a three-game home stand, which continues next week with bouts versus rivals Seattle University and Western Washington.

Streaks alive. Not only is Seattle Pacific the last remaining unbeaten team in the nation, but it also owns the fourth-longest home winning streak. Going into Saturday's game, the Falcons have won 28 straight at Brougham Pavilion, dating back a Jan. 18, 2001, loss to Central. Following road wins over Saint Martin's (73-62) and Northwest Nazarene (81-74), SPU has now been victorious in 26 straight regular season games.

A view from the top. While the Falcons were doing their part, North Dakota opened the door to the nation's top spot by blasting No. 1-ranked and previously undefeated South Dakota State 86-62 Feb. 8. The Jackrabbits, who rebounded by beating North Dakota State 77-47, had been the top-rated team since Dec. 18, when the Falcons rose to No. 2. Prior to this season, the highest national ranking was No. 6. The last SPU team to receive a midseason No. 1 ranking was men's soccer in 1994.

Enjoy, then get to work. With a ranking comes added recognition, adulation, celebration and-most of all-pressure. Coach Gordy Presnell will no doubt congratulate his players and fellow coaches. Yet he will also remind them that the grand prize is to be No. 1 at the end of the season, and that's still six weeks away. In the meantime, there is a GNAC title and regional top seed to be determined, and the Falcons hold the slimmest of leads in both areas. Western Washington enters the week trailing by one game in the conference and the No. 2 team in the West Region, Cal State Bakersfield, has won 15 in a row. What's more, Central Washington believes it can win Saturday, based on the narrow 63-60 outcome in Ellensburg Jan. 18, and because the 'Cats were the last visitor to escape with a victory in the pavilion.

Formula for success. While Presnell certainly has a couple candidates for GNAC player of the year, the stats alone don't begin to tell the story. Night in, night out, the coach gets solid leadership and contributions form his three senior starters: center Kelley Berglund (Sr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Washington State), point guard Kerie Hughes' (Sr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa./Mount Vernon) and wing Stephanie Urrutia (Sr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa./Sunnyside). Berglund attracts the most defensive attention, and still leads the team in scoring (13.1) and rebounding (8.4). She has six double-doubles this season. The visibly intense Hughes has come on strong since Christmas, reaching double figures in scoring eight straight games, including a season-high 23 points at Northwest Nazarene. She came within one free-throw of equaling the program's single game record of 14 and also had six assists. Urrutia is the No. 2 scorer (12.8) behind Berglund, and perhaps the team's best pure scorer. She recently surpassed 1000 career points and is 56 away from breaking into the school's top 10 leaders.

The not-so-good news. The season has not been total joyride, however. Presnell has not had his full squad together for a single game due to injuries. It's possible that forward Kristin Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.), a starter in the first six games, will return this weekend. Poe tore the MCL in her left knee in mid-December, but is expected to participate in full practice this week. Trisha Hermanson (So., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River), the top guard off the bench, is also questionable this week. Hermanson injured her knee late in the Saint Martin's contest after scoring a career-high 19 points, and she did not play at NNU. The silver lining to the injury woes is that Presnell has been able to give more playing time to emerging talents such as Michelle Beaumont (So., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome), Carli Smith (Fr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) and Mandy Wood (Fr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.). Beaumont set a GNAC record with 35 points earlier this season and both she and Wood are among the top three-point shooters in the conference. Smith is a candidate for freshman of the year, having come off the bench for five double-doubles since Jan. 9, including 12 points and 10 boards at Saint Martin's.

Put-backs. The Falcons lead the GNAC in eight categories, including scoring (83.2), scoring defense (60.8), scoring margin (+22.4), free-throw percentage (.760), rebounding (+8.3), steals (13.6) and three-point accuracy (.392)...Nationally, SPU is No. 5 in scoring offense and three-point accuracy, 11th in field-goal percentage and 12th in free throw accuracy...Individually, Valerie Gustafson (Jr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) is first in field-goal percentage (.586). Wood is first (.543) and Beaumont third (.462) in three-point percentage. Hughes is second in assists (5.47), eighth in three-point (.421) and free-throw accuracy (.790). Smith is third in free-throw percentage (.846), and fifth in rebounding (7.7) and field-goal accuracy (.556. Brittney Kroon (Fr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak./Wasilla) is third in blocks (1.05). Berglund is fourth in rebounding (8.4), sixth in field-goal shooting (.547) and sixth in blocked shots (0.85). Urrutia is seventh in assists (3.75) and sixth in free-throw percentage (.800)...The only other SPU team to win 20 consecutive contests was women's volleyball in 2000.

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.