Regional encounters ahead. Final exams will be in the rearview mirror this weekend as the Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team heads south for a pair of intra-region games in the Bay Area. The Falcons (5-1) are ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II and are rolling like a boulder down a steady slope as they arrive in San Francisco. SPU meets Sonoma State (0-5) Friday night (Dec. 10) and host San Francisco State (1-5) Saturday (Dec. 11). Another trip to California comes a week later, when it visits Chico State Dec. 18.

Job One. The best way to earn a return trip to the Elite Eight is to take the top seed in the West Region. To do that, it’s best that the Falcons win as many regional games as possible. And that’s the order of business over the next five games when SPU will meet five members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association. After that, it’s back to Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, where Seattle Pacific was won 44 in a row. The Falcons have fared well against CCAA teams the past two seasons, winning 10 of 11, including the last seven in a row. They have advanced to the Elite Eight two of the three times they were the region’s top seed.

Offensive fireworks. After averaging 75 points in their first four games, the Falcons exploded for an average of 96.5 in their two victories last week–their two highest outputs of the season. SPU cruised to a 94-64 win over Alaska Anchorage and followed that with a 57-point explosion in the second half of a 99-75 drubbing of Alaska Fairbanks. SPU is now averaging 82.2 points per game, second in the GNAC. Seattle Pacific shot a season best 54.3 percent (38-70) in the win over UAF and a combined 52.9 percent in both games.

Career nights. Center Brittney Kroon (Jr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) dominated the paint against Fairbanks. She fell one point shy of her career high with 17 points and established a new career best with 19 rebounds. The latter tied for the fourth-best SPU single-game performance and was the third-highest mark in GNAC history. Starting backcourt mates Amy Taylor (Sr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) and Mandy Wood (Jr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) also established individual career marks. Wood torched the Nanooks for 22 points. Taylor played a large role in that, dishing out 11 assists. Wood also set a career high with eight assists against Alaska Anchorage.

Smith shining as starter. After serving as SPU’s top reserve the past two seasons and the first two games this year, power forward Carli Smith (Jr., 6-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) has flourished as a starter the past four games. In the win over Alaska Fairbanks, Smith posted her first double-double of the season with 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. She finished with a combined 23 rebounds in the sweep of the Alaska schools. As a starter, Smith is averaging 9.5 points and 7.3 rebounds, and is shooting a blistering 70.8 percent (17-24) from the field. Smith leads the GNAC in shooting percentage at 61.3 percent (19-31).

Unselfish play. While SPU ranks second in the GNAC in scoring, the Falcons do not have a single player who ranks in the league’s top 15 scorers. That’s due to Seattle Pacific’s ability to spread the ball around efficiently. In both victories last week, the Falcons had five players score in double figures. Each starter totaled 12 or more each against Alaska Fairbanks. In addition to Wood and Kroon, Michelle Beaumont (Sr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) scored 15, Smith 14 and Taylor 12. Against Anchorage, Beaumont led the way with 16, and Rachel Strand (So., 6-2, Shoreline, Wa./King’s) scored 10 off the bench. Wood leads the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game. Beaumont (12.0), Taylor (11.8) and Kroon (11.0) also average in double figures.

Home, sweet home. A large piece of a successful program is defending home court, and the Falcons have posted some impressive numbers at Brougham Pavilion. SPU has won 36 home conference games in a row, nearly a four-year stretch since Central Washington left town a winner back on Jan. 18, 2001. Since then, only seven visitors have come within 10 points.

Put-backs. SPU dropped only two places in the first regular season national rankings. Drury is the new No. 1. Aside from their loss at No. 7 North Dakota, the Falcons have won by an average of 26.8 points. They had been No. 3 in the preseason poll...Assistant Jamie Craighead coached the team vs. UAF. Head coach Gordy Presnell was on leave, following the death of his father...Beaumont is 9-14 on three-pointers and has averaged 16.7 points in the last three games...Kroon has averaged 15.3 points and shot .57.6 percent in the last three outings...Quinn Brewe (Fr., 6-1, Lynnwood, Wa./Meadowdale) returned to the lineup for one game last week after missing a pair of games while recovering from a concussion suffered in the Nov. 19 season opener. She had six points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes against Alaska Anchorage...Jessie Christensen (Fr., 5-9, Enumclaw, Wa.) tallied her first assist against UAA on a three-pointer to her older sister Beth Christensen (So., 5-5, Enumclaw, Wa.)...Along with ranking 16th in scoring, Wood is fourth in the GNAC in assists (4.8), 11th in three-point field goals (1.5) and 12th in steals (2.0)...Kroon leads the league in blocked shots (3.67), and ranks sixth in rebounding (8.5) and 10th in field-goal percentage (.529)...Taylor is fourth in three-pointers (2.17), eighth in assists (3.8) and 11th in three-point percentage (.382)...Beaumont ranks eighth in three-pointers (1.83) and sixth in accuracy from behind the arc (.458)...SPU leads the league with 7.3 treys per game on 36.1 percent accuracy (third in GNAC). The Falcons also lead the league in blocks (5.0).

Coaching Staff. For the second straight year, Gordy Presnell was voted the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s NCAA Division II Coach of the Year for 2004, along with conference and regional coach of the year honors. He has never registered a losing season in 17 years at the helm of the Seattle Pacific University basketball program, including back-to-back perfect records during the regular season the past two years. 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 12 times, including Elite Eight appearances in both 1998 and 2004. Returning to Presnell’s staff for her third season is former University of Oregon player Jamie Craighead, who completed her career in 2002 as Oregon’s leader in three-pointers. During her final season, she started all 35 games, averaging 7.9 points.

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.

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.