No. 13 SPU Women Down Central Washington
December 4, 2003

SEATTLE (Dec. 4) -- Valerie Gustafson scored a career-high 25 points as the No. 13 Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team opened Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a 71-61 win over Central Washington on Thursday night at Brougham Pavilion.

The Falcons (5-0, 1-0) extended their regular-season win streak to 38 games and pushed their GNAC unbeaten string to 25 games.

After leading by three at the half, SPU jumped out to a nine-point lead (43-34) with 15:23 left before the Wildcats (3-3, 0-1) pulled to within one at 47-46 with 11:43 remaining. Gustafson (Sr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) and Amy Taylor (Jr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood-Oregon) took over from there, combining for 17 of the Falcons' final 24 points.

Taylor hit a big jumper as the shot clock expired to push the SPU lead to 10 with 1:15 left. She finished with a career-high 23 points, including a perfect 8-8 from the line. The Falcons shot 7-8 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes to keep the game out of reach.

Laura Wright led Central with 18 points while Lindsay Weiss had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Kristin Poe (Sr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.) pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Falcons.

Both teams struggled from the field, with SPU shooting just 39 percent. The Falcons held Central to 28 percent shooting and forced the Wildcats into 23 turnovers. Central outrebounded SPU 49-44.

Seattle Pacific hosts No. 23 Chico State on Saturday night (7 p.m.) in a rematch of last year's NCAA West Regional first-round game.

SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY 71, CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 61

Central Washington University  30 31 - 61 
Seattle Pacific University     33 38 - 71

CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY (3-3 (0-1)) Wright, Laura 6-11 6-6 18; Weiss, Lindsay 5-16 0-1 14; Jensen, Angela 5-14 0-0 12; Ainslie, Loni 2-13 2-2 7; Ellis, Kelsey 2-6 1-2 6; Avila, Yvette 0-4 4-4 4; Hover, Moriah 0-3 0-0 0; Rudy, Nicole 0-1 0-0 0; Blake, Ashley 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 20-71 13-15 61.

SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY (5-0 (1-0)) Gustafson, Valerie 10-21 5-6 25; Taylor, Amy 6-10 8-8 23; Beaumont, Michelle 2-6 3-4 8; Kroon, Brittney 2-3 2-2 6; Smith, Carli 2-3 0-0 4; Wood, Mandy 1-3 0-0 3; Poe, Jenny 1-4 0-0 2; Poe, Kristin 0-11 0-2 0. Totals 24-61 18-23 71.

3-point goals-Central Washington University 8-26 (Weiss, Lindsay 4-9; Jensen, Angela 2-3; Ellis, Kelsey 1-2; Ainslie, Loni 1-9; Rudy, Nicole 0-1; Avila, Yvette 0-1; Wright, Laura 0-1), Seattle Pacific University 5-14 (Taylor, Amy 3-7; Wood, Mandy 1-2; Beaumont, Michelle 1-3; Poe, Jenny 0-1; Poe, Kristin 0-1). Fouled out--Central Washington University-None, Seattle Pacific University-None. Rebounds-Central Washington University 49 (Weiss, Lindsay 13), Seattle Pacific University 44 (Poe, Kristin 13). Assists-Central Washington University 15 (Jensen, Angela 6), Seattle Pacific University 14 (Wood, Mandy 5). Total fouls-Central Washington University 17, Seattle Pacific University 17. A-287