SEATTLE (Feb. 5) ­ Valerie Gustafson and Mandy Wood each scored a game-high 14 points as the No. 4 Seattle Pacific University women's basketball team beat Seattle University 79-53 on Thursday in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play at the Connolly Center.

The win pushed the Falcons' (19-0, 10-0 GNAC) regular season win streak to 52 games and their conference string now stands at 34 straight.

Joining Wood (So., 5-7, Port Angeles, Wa.) and Gustafson (Sr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills), who also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, in double figures were Amy Taylor (Jr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood-Oregon) with 11 and Brittney Kroon (So., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) added 10. Kroon, the No. 1 shot blocker in NCAA Division II, also swatted five shots.

With SPU leading 38-31 at halftime, the Redhawks (8-11, 4-6 GNAC) closed it to 38-35 with 18:56 left before the Falcons pulled away. Seattle U. managed just four field goals in the second half (4-for-29, .138), with the last coming at the 16:32 mark. Seattle Pacific outscored the Redhawks 28-5 over a 13:05 span and took its largest lead at 75-44 with 3:27 to go.

The Falcons won the battle of the boards, 49-29, and forced SU into 28 percent shooting (17-59) on the night. SPU shot 29-of-59 (.492) from the field, but coughed the ball up 25 times.

Seattle U. was led by Thresia Busch’s nine points, while Ashley Payne, Chelsey Holloway and Jenny Iverson added eight for the Redhawks.

Seattle Pacific next plays Saturday at Western Washington (15-4, 8-2 GNAC), which sits in second-place in the GNAC.

SEATTLE PACIFIC - Gustafson 14, Wood 14, Taylor 11, Kroon 10, Beaumont 9, Smith 8, K. Poe 6, Hermanson 3, Duffin 2, J. Poe 1, Strand 1, Soule 0.

SEATTLE UNIVERSITY ­ Busch 9, Payne 8, Holloway 8, Iverson 8, Young 7, Pewitt 4, Dascenzo 3, Welton 2, Cordova 2, Jones 2, White 0, Dann 0, Smith 0.

Halftime - SPU 38, Seattle U. 31