LACEY, Wa. (Jan. 31) ­ Valerie Gustafson scored a game-high 19 points as the No. 4 Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team beat Saint Martin’s 87-69 on Saturday in a showdown of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s top teams.

The Falcons (18-0, 9-0 GNAC) have now won 33 straight conference games and 51 consecutive regular season contests while the Saints (10-7, 7-2 GNAC) had their seven-game winning streak snapped. SPU now holds a two-game lead over Saint Martin’s and Western Washington at the halfway point in the GNAC schedule.

Gustafson (Sr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills), who also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, was one of four SPU players in double figures. Kristin Poe (Sr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) scored 14, Mandy Wood (So., 5-7, Port Angeles, Wa.) had 12 and Brittney Kroon (So., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) added 11 points and five blocks.

SPU built a 12-point lead (35-23) with 6:09 to go in the first half before the Saints closed to within three at halftime (43-40). The Falcons opened the second half with a game-breaking 16-2 run as their lead was extended to 60-42 with 14:34 remaining.

Saint Martin’s pulled to within 63-53 at the 10:55 mark before SPU outscored the Saints 16-6 over the next 4:50 to push the lead back to 79-59.

Seattle Pacific shot 47 percent (32-68) from the field while holding Saint Martin’s to 37 percent shooting. The Falcons won the battle of the boards, 50-35, and forced 21 Saints turnovers.

Beth Layton and Stephanie Colbo led Saint Martin’s with 17 points each.

The Falcons play next at cross-town rival Seattle U. Thursday night.

SEATTLE PACIFIC ­ Gustafson 19, K. Poe 14, Wood 12, Kroon 11, Taylor 9, Smith 8, J. Poe 7, Beaumont 5, Hermanson 2, Duffin 0, Strand 0, Soule 0.

SAINT MARTIN’S ­ Layton 17, Colbo 17, Kartikova 13, Eisentrout 10, Riel 9, Matson 2, Golob 1, Bales 0, Ford 0, Staudacher 0.

Halftime ­ SPU 43, SMC 40