No. 3 Falcon Women Roll Past Alaska Fairbanks
February 14, 2004

SEATTLE (Feb. 14) ­ Valerie Gustafson and Brittney Kroon each scored 16 points as No. 3 Seattle Pacific University beat Alaska Fairbanks 98-52 in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball game Saturday at Brougham Pavilion.

With the win, the Falcons (22-0, 13-0 GNAC) extended their regular season win streak to 55 games and their conference string now stands at 37 straight. Seattle Pacific has also won 44 home regular season games in a row. The Nanooks (7-14, 3-10 GNAC) have lost 13 out of their last 14 games.

Joining Gustafson (Sr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) and Kroon (So., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) in double figures for SPU were Kristen Poe (Sr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw) and Jenny Poe (So., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa./Enumclaw-Portland State) with 10 points apiece. Carli Smith (So., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Falcons led from the start, jumping out to a quick 12-3 lead with 16:12 left in the first half. SPU pushed its lead to 44-21 by halftime as Gustafson scored 12 first-half points. The SPU lead grew in the second half as the Falcons went on a 19-4 run over a 5:53 span. They took their largest lead at 98-50 with less than a minute to play.

SPU shot 51 percent (35-68) from the field and 54 percent (6-11) from behind the arc. The Falcons held the Nanooks to just 28 percent (16-56) shooting and forced 22 UAF turnovers. Seattle Pacific dominated the boards, outrebounding Fairbanks 51-28.

Adrienne Taalak led the Nanooks with 20 points and Andrea Durny added 12 for UAF.

Seattle Pacific plays next at Western Oregon on Thursday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY 98, U. OF ALASKA - FAIRBANKS 52

U. OF ALASKA - FAIRBANKS ((7-14, 3-10)) Taalak, Adrienne 6-15 3-4 20; Durny, Andrea 3-7 4-5 12; Schirack, Marsha 3-9 0-0 6; Mason, Courtney 1-3 0-0 3; Rabung, Karen 0-3 3-6 3; McNulty, Melissa 1-3 0-0 2; Chan, Cecilia 1-6 0-2 2; Diesher, Tania 1-1 0-0 2; Hartman, Valerie 0-9 2-3 2. Totals 16-56 12-20 52.

SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY ((22-0, 13-0)) Kroon, Brittney 6-6 4-4 16; Gustafson, Valerie 8-10 0-0 16; Poe, Jenny 3-4 4-4 10; Poe, Kristin 3-9 3-4 10; Taylor, Amy 3-5 2-2 9; Wood, Mandy 3-5 0-0 8; Strand, Rachel 2-5 2-2 7; Hermanson, Trisha 2-5 2-2 7; Smith, Carli 2-7 3-4 7; Beaumont, Michelle 3-9 0-0 6; Duffin, Mackenzie 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 35-68 22-24 98.

Halftime: SPU 44, UAF 21 3-point goals-U. of Alaska - Fairbanks 8-23 (Taalak, Adrienne 5-10; Durny, Andrea 2-3; Mason, Courtney 1-2; McNulty, Melissa 0-2; Chan, Cecilia 0-2; Hartman, Valerie 0-2; Schirack, Marsha 0-2), Seattle Pacific University 6-11 (Wood, Mandy 2-2; Poe, Kristin 1-3; Strand, Rachel 1-2; Hermanson, Trisha 1-1; Taylor, Amy 1-2; Beaumont, Michelle 0-1). Fouled out--U. of Alaska - Fairbanks-Taalak, Adrienne, Seattle Pacific University-None. Rebounds-U. of Alaska - Fairbanks 28 (Hartman, Valerie 6), Seattle Pacific University 51 (Smith, Carli 13). Assists-U. of Alaska - Fairbanks 11 (Taalak, Adrienne 4), Seattle Pacific University 23 (Taylor, Amy 7). Total fouls-U. of Alaska - Fairbanks 16, Seattle Pacific University 15. A-725