Best in the West. Coming off a confidence-building victory in a hostile environment going into the Christmas break, the Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team can now relax with family and friends. But only briefly. The No. 4-ranked Falcons (8-1) must quickly refocus their attention to claiming superiority in the West when they host the Great Northwest Athletic Conference/California Collegiate Athletic Association Challenge next Wednesday and Thursday (Dec. 29-30). SPU meets Cal State L.A. (2-3) in the opening round before a huge bout with undefeated and No. 12 Cal Poly Pomona (7-0) the next evening. Western Washington completes the tournament field. After that, GNAC play resumes with five of the next seven games on the road, beginning Jan. 6 at Humboldt State.

Regional rematch. Sometimes, seeding for the NCAA Division II regional comes down to the outcome of a single game. And since both of Seattle Pacific’s trips to the Elite Eight were earned while serving as the No. 1 seed and host of a West Regional, Coach Gordy Presnell and his players have undoubtedly circled in red the date with Cal Poly Pomona. The contest not only features two nationally-ranked teams, but it is a rematch of the regional championship game played at Brougham Pavilion last March. The Falcons prevailed 80-63 over the Broncos to book a trip to the national quarterfinal round.

Character building. Whereas Seattle Pacific completed the past two regular seasons undefeated, next March the Falcons hope to have lots of confidence in addition to plenty of wins. Presnell’s plan was to test his squad by fire. First came a trip to nationally-ranked North Dakota, where SPU absorbed its first regular season loss in three seasons. Apparently, that served as a character builder because last week at previously-unbeaten Chico State, the Falcons displayed plenty of moxie in coming from behind for an important, 89-81 win. They have now won 30 consecutive games against fellow West Region members and 68 of their last 69 regular season games overall.

Win was Taylor-made. Amy Taylor (Sr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) has a growing knack for delivering the goods in big games. The hero of that regional title win over Cal Poly Pomona, Taylor also proved to be the difference at Chico. She scored 11 of her 18 points in the second half, including a trey to first tie the game and another, with 81 seconds left, to push SPU ahead, 86-80. Taylor, who contributed four assists and two steals, was chosen as the GNAC co-player of the week. Last year against Pomona in the playoffs, she broke open a tight contest midway through the second half by scoring eight unanswered points, including a pair of three-pointers.

Balancing act. Stopping this particular Seattle Pacific squad is a little like holding water with bare hands. Eventually, a leak develops and soon the holder is empty-handed. The Falcons feature not one or two, but as many as five threats on offense. Already, three times this season at least five players have scored in double figures, including six at Chico State, where the reserves outscored their Wildcat counterparts 38-10. For the season, seven players average between 7-14 points, topped by Mandy Wood (Jr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) at 14.2. Despite the fact that the Falcons are the No. 1 scoring team in the GNAC at 81.3 points per game, no player is listed among the league’s top 10. True grit. When the going gets tough later on this season, the Falcons will be able to draw upon their experience at Chico, where they trailed by 10 late in the first half and by six at the break. A combination of solid play by the reserves plus tight defense paved the comeback trail. SPU made four consecutive stops at the end of the first period, held the Wildcats to 36-percent shooting in the second and the 81 points was 18 below Chico’s season average. Among the strong efforts off the bench were Rachel Strand (So., 6-2, Shoreline, Wa./King’s), with 12 points; Jenny Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.), with 11 points and three assists; and Brittney Kroon (Jr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.), contributing 10 points, 14 boards and four assists in a rare nonstarter appearance. Trisha Hermanson (Sr., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River) chipped-in with five points in four minutes.

Put-backs. There will be no new national rankings for Div. II until Jan. 4...Quinn Brewe (Fr., 6-1, Lynnwood, Wa./Meadowdale) appeared in only her fourth game, making a start at Chico. Brewe, who missed five of the previous six games with a concussion, played 21 minutes and scored two points...Kroon needs 10 more blocks to surpass Liz Guppy (214) as the career leader...Seattle Pacific leads the GNAC in scoring (81.3), rebounding margin (+10.3), blocks (5.44) and three-pointers per game (7.44). It is No. 2 in scoring margin (+20.7), field-goal percentage (.474), three-point shooting (.362) field-goal percentage defense (.349) and three-point defense (.285)...Carli Smith (Jr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian), who totaled 10 points and six rebounds in just 16 minutes last week, paces the conference in shooting percentage 9.640) and is No. 5 in rebounding (8.3). Kroon leads the GNAC in blocks (4.00), is No. 6 in rebounding (8.1) and No. 8 in shooting (.529)...Wood ranks No. 3 in assists (4.6) and eighth in three-point accuracy (.388). Taylor is sixth in assists (4.1). Michelle Beaumont (Sr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) is seventh in three-point accuracy (.406).

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.