Defending high ground. Unbeaten Seattle Pacific University continues its defense of the No. 1 ranking in women's basketball this week against some longtime and, at times, fearsome foes-yet within the friendly confines of Brougham Pavilion. The Falcons (12-0, 21-0) not only have a chance to stretch their home winning streak past 30 games but also begin to nail-down a Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship in the process. The week begins with crosstown rival Seattle University (2-11, 7-14) visiting Thursday (Feb. 20), followed on Saturday (Feb. 22) by the much-anticipated rematch with Western Washington (12-1, 19-3), currently ranked No. 20. The final two GNAC road contests are next week in Alaska.

A ways to go. Although getting to No. 1 was a goal of the squad, the ranking is not a destination, only a signpost along the way. The next order of business is the conference championship and the outcome of Saturday's game will go a long way toward determining the final standings. Western Washington, which has won eight straight and 14 of 15, trails by just one game in the loss column. Beyond the conference, there is regional seeding; the No. 1 team earns the right to host next month's NCAA West Regional. Currently, Cal State Bakersfield (20-1) is breathing down the Falcons' collective neck.

Power of one. It took more than six weeks, but the Falcons finally wrestled free from the No. 2 ranking and reached the nation's most coveted regular season honor. Taking advantage of South Dakota State's Feb. 6 loss to North Dakota, Seattle Pacific received 23 of 24 first-place votes in the Feb. 12 coaches poll and is now the nation's lone remaining undefeated team. It also owns the nation's fourth-longest home winning streak, which reached 29 games last week with an 80-69 victory over Central Washington. More than 1200 fans-the largest crowd in five years and No. 2 all-time-witnessed the win, the 27th straight in regular season play. The last SPU regular season loss was to Western Washington on Feb. 7, 2002

Hair today, gone Thursday. With the nation's top ranking comes added recognition, adulation, celebration and, apparently, a buzz cut. Just ask Coach Gordy Presnell, who was forced to make good on a preseason promise to his players and consequently lost a couple inches off the top, not to mention the sides and back of his head as well. Less than 30 hours after his team went to the top of latest poll and with TV cameras rolling, Presnell's head was shaved to the nub, the shears being operated by the players. With 328 victories (a .728 percentage) and an average of more than 20 wins over his 16 seasons, Presnell is among the 20 most successful coaches at the Division II level.

Jittery start, strong finish. Everybody takes aim at the No. 1 team and Central certainly took its best shot. Taking advantage of some SPU jitters in the opening minutes, the Wildcats moved ahead by nine points. At that point, the adrenaline wore off and the quartet of Kelley Berglund (Sr., 6-3, Port Angeles, Wa./Washington State), Kerie Hughes' (Sr., 5-6, Mount Vernon, Wa./Mount Vernon), Stephanie Urrutia (Sr., 5-9, Sunnyside, Wa./Sunnyside) and Valerie Gustafson (Jr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) took over. Those players combined for a dozen points during a 16-2 run late in the first half. In the final period, Berglund scored 13 of her 24 points (11-16 FGs) as the Falcons pulled away. Hughes finished with 19 points and Urrutia and Gustafson added 14 apiece to the cause.

On the mend. Overshadowed by last week's big news was the return of forward Kristin Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.). After missing 14 games with a torn MCL, Poe came off the bench to play 20 minutes and collect nine rebounds vs. Central. Still missing is backup guard Trisha Hermanson (So., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River), who remains doubtful for this week with an unspecified injury to her right knee. Hermanson has missed two games since scoring a career-high 19 points at Saint Martin's Feb. 6.

Put-backs. With Hermanson out, Hughes has played all but three minutes of the last two games but has responded with high energy, 42 points and 11 assists to only five turnovers in those contests...Urrutia is 12-23 from the field in the last two games and is now 42 points from breaking into the school's top 10 in career scoring...Gustafson's 14 points marked her best output in five games. She also had eight boards...Berglund also snared 12 boards vs. Central to post her seventh double-double. The 24 points matched her season-high set vs. North Dakota State in the opening game...SPU snapped out of a mild shooting slump (sub-45 percent over the previous three games), hitting 52 percent vs. CWU...Only six opponents have shot better than 40 percent vs. the Falcons this season...The Falcons lead the GNAC in six statistical categories, including scoring (83.0), scoring margin (+21.9), three-point accuracy (.395), rebounding (+8.6), steals (13.4) and defensive field-goal percentage (.358). They are No. 2 in scoring defense (61.2), field-goal percentage (.473) and free-throw percentage (.753)...Nationally, SPU is No. 5 in scoring offense, scoring margin and three-point accuracy...Individually in the GNAC, Mandy Wood (Fr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) is first (.521) and Michelle Beaumont (So., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) second (.472) in three-point percentage. Carli Smith (Fr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) is No. 2 free-throw percentage (.852), sixth in field-goal accuracy (.551) and seventh in rebounding (7.5). Gustafson is No. 2 in field-goal percentage (.592). Hughes is second in assists (5.45), fifth in three-point (.435) and 10th free-throw accuracy (.769). Brittney Kroon (Fr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak./Wasilla) is fourth in blocks (1.05). Berglund is No. 4 in rebounding (8.6) and field-goal shooting (.559), No. 7 in blocked shots (0.81) and No. 12 in scoring (13.7). Urrutia is fifth in free-throw percentage (.807) and seventh in assists (3.86).

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.