Home cookin’. With another tournament title in hand, the Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team returns home to host a pair of games this week. The unbeaten Falcons (4-0), ranked 22nd in the NCAA Division II preseason poll, commence Great Northwest Athletic Conference play by hosting Central Washington (3-2) Thursday night (Dec. 4). SPU faces No. 25 Chico State (2-0) Saturday night (Dec. 6) in a rematch of last year’s NCAA West Regional first round game. Following final exams, the Falcons travel to Portland to face Warner Pacific Dec. 12.

Familiar foes. After winning their first four games by an average of 27.5 points, the Falcons enter their GNAC opener against Central Washington with a head full of steam as well as a 24-game conference win streak. The Wildcats, on the other hand, have struggled a bit early on. Picked to finish second in the GNAC, Central lost both games in the Falcon Hoop Classic at Brougham Pavilion while SPU easily beat the same teams. Chico State will be looking for revenge after the Falcons knocked the Wildcats out of the NCAA playoffs last spring (81-70). Chico is coached by Lynne DeYoung, who played at SPU and was coach Gordy Presnell’s top assistant for five years. Another familiar face on the Chico State bench is Stephanie Urrutia, who is in her first year as an assistant after finishing her four-year SPU career last season.

No knockin’ Wood. SPU swept through its post-Thanksgiving tournament at Northwest Nazarene, easily beating Lewis-Clark State (86-61) and Cal State Stanislaus (89-60) to push its regular season win streak to 37 games. It was a breakout weekend for reserve guard Mandy Wood (So., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa./Port Angeles), who was named to the all-tournament team after totaling 31 points (13-23 FGs, 5-10 treys), six assists and five steals in the pair of wins. Against Cal State Stanislaus, an NCAA playoff team a year ago, Wood scored a career-high 19 points while shooting 8-14, including 3-6 from behind the arc.

Most Val-uable. Forward Valerie Gustafson (Sr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) picked up her second tournament MVP award in as many weeks after an impressive pair of games at NNU. Gustafson led the Falcons with a game-high 20 points against Lewis-Clark State, then scored 18 and made five of the team’s 17 steals against turnover-prone (41 total) Cal State Stanislaus. Gustafson’s weekend totals were 38 points (16-34 FGs), 10 rebounds, eight steals and seven assists. She currently leads SPU in scoring (17.5 ppg), steals (3.2) and minutes played (27.0) while converting 54 percent of her field goals.

Twice as nice. Sisters Kristin (Sr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) and Jenny Poe (So., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw-Portland State) are creating some headaches for the competition. While Kristin has been at SPU for five years, starting three, Jenny is in just her first year on campus and is coming off the bench. Both are putting up solid numbers for the Falcons. In the NNU tourney, Kristin totaled 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while Jenny contributed 13 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and five steals. On the season, Kristin is averaging 9.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists, while Jenny is averaging 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game and leads the GNAC with a whopping 14.0 to 1 assists-to-turnover ratio.

Put-backs. A new NCAA Division II poll is due to be released Tuesday (Dec. 2)...After this week’s games, SPU does not play again at home until Jan. 8, when conference play resumes...Brittney Kroon (So., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) totaled eight blocks last weekend and continues to lead the GNAC with 4.2 blocks per game. She’s seventh in field-goal percentage (.552). Kroon also recorded her second career double-double with 10 points and 11 boards vs. Lewis-Clark State...Carli Smith (So., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) came off the bench and grabbed 18 rebounds at the tourney, including 11 against L-C State. Smith leads SPU with 7.8 boards per game (No. 9 in GNAC)...The Falcons have won 24 straight conference games, dating back to Feb. 7, 2002 when they lost at Western Washington...Amy Taylor (Jr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood-Oregon) scored a season-high 13 points vs. Cal State Stanislaus, making 3-of-4 threes...Michelle Beaumont (Jr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) added 10 points against L-C State, one of five Falcons in double figures...Trisha Hermanson (Jr., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River) remains out with a hand injury...Gustafson is fourth in GNAC scoring (17.5 ppg)...The team leads the GNAC in scoring margin (+27.5), field-goal percentage (.447), field-goal percentage defense (.323), rebounding (44.2), assists (22.5), steals (13.25), blocks (6.75), turnover margin (+11.25), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.20) and offensive rebounds (17.25). It is second in scoring (82.5) and scoring defense (55.0)...The last conference loss was Feb. 7, 2001, to Western Washington. The Falcons have not lost a home conference or regular season game since Jan. 18, 2001, against Central Washington.

Tickets, Please. General admission tickets for all SPU home women’s basketball games are priced $5, with students, youth and senior citizens $3 with proper identification. Reserved seating for doubleheaders with men’s games are $7 and $6. Teams or groups can qualify for discount rates by calling (206) 281-2085 in advance.

SPU Coaches. Coach Gordy Presnell was voted the 2003 Russell Athletic/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year for NCAA Division II last season after having also been named both conference and regional coach of the year. He has never registered a losing season in 16 years at the helm of the Seattle Pacific University basketball program. Presnell 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 21 wins per season and qualified for the playoffs 11 times, including an Elite Eight appearance in 1998.

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.