One to go. It’s not an every-year occurrence. Or then again, maybe it is. The top-ranked Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team looks to complete its second-straight unbeaten regular season this week, but it won’t be easy. The Falcons (17-0, 26-0), winners of their last 41 Great Northwest Athletic Conference games and 59 in a row during regular season play, visit postseason contender Central Washington (11-6, 17-9) Saturday evening (Mar. 6). The Wildcats, who have won seven in a row and are 11-1 at home, hope to play spoiler as they fight for the final playoff spot in the West Region. The NCAA Division II tournament pairings and regional sites will be announced Sunday night (Mar. 7). First-round pay begins Mar. 12.

View from the top. If clinching the GNAC title wasn’t reward enough for all their hard work this season, the Falcons can take pride in once again assuming the No. 1 ranking in the land. Last week, SPU leapfrogged No. 2 Drury (Mo.) to replace California (Pa.) at the top. This is the program’s second trip to the top. On Feb. 12, 2003, the Falcons began a five-week run which ended with a loss to Cal State Bakersfield in the NCAA West Region championship game. Having already earned the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, SPU has all but nailed down the No. 1 seed in the West Region and, with it, the right to host that tournament for the second year in a row. SPU has held the top spot in the regional rankings throughout the season.

Prior to last Saturday’s game, the program honored seniors Valerie Gustafson (left) and Kristin Poe (right), and they went out and led SPU to a victory.

Super seniors. Seniors Valerie Gustafson (Sr., 6-0, Olympia, Wa./Black Hills) and Kristin Poe (Sr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.), who have played on three conference championship teams in the last four years, were honored before the final home game then, appropriately enough, went out and led SPU to a victory. Gustafson torched the Crusaders for 22 points–including 14 in the second half– on 9-of-13 shooting. Her two-game totals of 33 points (13-20 FGs), 12 rebounds and seven assists earned her GNAC player of the week for the third time this season. Also against NNU, in perhaps her best game of the season, Poe added 19 points (7-12 FGs), six rebounds, five assists and three steals. An appreciative home crowd gave the pair a standing ovation when they went to the bench in the final minutes.

Glass cleaner. When Coach Gordy Presnell needs toughness on the glass, all he has to do is call on super-sub Carli Smith (So., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian). Despite playing just over 20 minutes a game, Smith leads the team in rebounding (8.6 rpg). In last week’s wins, she totaled 22 boards, including a season-high tying 15 against Saint Martin’s. Smith, named conference freshman of the year last season, also had 17 points (7-13 FGs) and five steals. She ranks No. 3 in GNAC rebounding and is No. 9 in free-throw accuracy (.807).

Three for all. Seattle Pacific is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country, thanks in large part its sharpshooting perimeter players. A case in point came against Saint Martin’s; guards Amy Taylor (Jr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood-Oregon) and Mandy Wood (So., 5-7, Port Angeles, Wa.) each made four treys on the night and SPU tied its season-high by making 11 threes–just one shy of the school record set in 1992. Taylor is the GNAC’s No. 2 (.447) three-point shooter and Wood is No. 4 (.433). For the season, the team has already shattered the records for threes made (190/record was 168) and attempted (485/record was 447), set during the 1996-97 season.

It happens. It’s a rarity, but it has happened. Should Seattle Pacific finish the regular season unbeaten for the second year in a row, they would join a small circle of programs to have accomplished such a feat. Columbus State (Ga.) did so in ‘01-02, Saint Rose (NY) in ‘97-98 and Saginaw Valley State in ‘84-85. The only team to win the NCAA championship with an unblemished mark was North Dakota State (32-0) in 1995. Other than the Falcons, the only other undefeated women’s college program is Division III’s Bowdoin College (Maine) at 26-0.

The bigger picture. The Falcons earned 18 of 23 first-place votes in this week’s poll after getting eight the week before. Drury got three first-place votes and both Glenville State (WV) and Shaw (NC) had one each. Regionally, Seattle Pacific’s pair of wins, combined with a loss by Cal State Bakersfield, the No. 2 team in the West, all but assured the regional of coming to Brougham for the third time since 1998. The rest of regional top 10 was Cal Poly Pomona, Western Washington, Chico State (which lost twice), Sonoma State, Grand Canyon, UC San Diego, Montana State Billings and Saint Martin’s.

Put-backs. On the records watch, Brittney Kroon (So., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) needs just 14 blocks to break the single-season school record of 128, set by Caroline Pfeil in 30 games in 1989-90. Kroon, who had eight blocks vs. Northwest Nazarene, broke the single-game mark with 13 against the Crusaders earlier this season. Poe moved into a tie for No. 4 on the all-time steals list. Gustafson needs nine points to move up to No. 10 on the scoring list and her field-goal percentage is on school-record pace...Taylor scored a team-high 16 points and Wood added 14 against Saint Martin’s...As a team, the Falcons rate among the nation’s top in five categories: scoring margin (+22.1, No. 4), rebounding margin (+9.2, No. 8), three-point field-goal percentage (.392, No. 6), field-goal percentage defense (.343, No. 6) and scoring offense (80.5, No. 9). They are also 13th in three-pointers per game (7.31) and 17th in offensive field goal percentage (.462). They lead the GNAC in each of those categories, plus scoring defense (58.5), blocks (6.88) and steals (11.81)...Kroon leads both the NCAA and GNAC in blocked shots (4.4) and is No. 4 in the GNAC for field-goal percentage (.524). Taylor leads the league in free-throw shooting (.904) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.73), is No. 8 in assists (3.92) and three-point field-goals made (1.96) and ninth in field-goal percentage (.485). Gustafson is the GNAC’s No. 1 shooter (.574), No. 7 in steals (1.85) and No. 8 in scoring (15.0). Wood is No. 6 in three-point field goals made (2.00). Kristin Poe is ninth in steals (1.81). Michelle Beaumont (Jr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) is No. 10 in three-point shooting (.358).

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.