A re-start on the road. More than a month after opening league play with a pair of victories, No. 4-ranked Seattle Pacific University returns to Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball action this week. During its hiatus from GNAC games, SPU won all five of its tests against West Region opponents, including a 25-point drubbing of 12th-ranked Cal Poly Pomona for its eighth straight win last week. The Falcons (2-0, 10-1) begin the New Year on the road Thursday night (Jan. 6) at Humboldt State (0-2, 3-8), then face Western Oregon (1-1, 4-5) Saturday afternoon (Jan. 8). They return home next week to host Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin’s.

44 & counting. There are precious few active players in the GNAC who can recount a time when their team was able to beat the Falcons. Why? Because Seattle Pacific has not only won the conference crown the past two seasons, it has done so without losing a single GNAC game (or any regular season game, for the matter). SPU has won 44 straight GNAC games dating back to 2002.

More numerology. While the GNAC race remains to be determined, the Falcons have already staked a claim for best in the West. Following last week’s victories over Cal Poly Pomona (90-65) and Cal State L.A. (107-53) in the GNAC/CCAA Challenge, SPU has won 32 consecutive games against regional opponents. It finished 5-0 against CCAA teams, winning by an average margin of 28.6 points. Nine of the 10 victories this season have been by 20 or more.

Taylor-made award. Point guard Amy Taylor (Sr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) proved to be brilliant in the two holiday tournament games. Carving her way in and out of defenses, Taylor’s creativity led to several easy scoring opportunities for her teammates and helped her earn the GNAC/CCAA Challenge’s most outstanding player award. She led all players with a combined 15 assists in two games, and also tallied a team-high 36 points, shooting 12-for-23 from the field, including 5-for-10 from three-point range. Those figures also earned Taylor the GNAC player of the week award for the second time in three weeks. She is the conference leader in assists-to-turnovers ratio (2.60) and leads the team in scoring (12.5), assists (4.7) and steals (1.73). After a so-so start to December, she finished by averaging 18.0 points and hitting 9-19 three-pointers for the three outings.

Balancing act. Taylor was joined on the six-member all-tournament team by teammates Michelle Beaumont (Sr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome) and Carli Smith (Jr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian). Beaumont totaled 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. That included a 19-point, six-rebound effort against Cal State L.A. in which she shot a near-perfect 8-for-9 from the field, including 3-for-4 from behind the arc. Smith led all tournament participants with 27 rebounds to go along with 21 points. She scored a career-high 19 points and hauled down a season-best 18 rebounds in the victory over Cal Poly Pomona. Her 18 boards were the second-most in the GNAC this year and No. 5 all-time. Beaumont, averaging 12.5, trails Taylor by a single point for the scoring lead.

Rebound that ball, y’all. The Falcons shot a solid 50 percent in the tournament, and that alone would’ve been sufficient to win both games. However, their rebounding and defense could’ve done the job just as well. And it’s the little things which may mean the difference in March. SPU finished with a plus-21 in rebounding and committed 18 fewer turnovers while holding opponents to 34 percent shooting. Seattle Pacific leads the GNAC in rebounding margin (10.6) and defensive field-goal percentage (.346).

Put-backs. The Falcons’ 107 points vs. Cal State L.A. was the most in the GNAC this season and tied for No. 4 all-time in team records. It was the most points since scoring 110 vs. Northwest College two years ago. The 12 three-pointers tied a team record last accomplished in the regional championship game vs. Pomona last season. The 28 assists was a season-high...Mandy Wood (Jr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.), who had been team’s top scorer, started but played just 34 minutes and attempted only nine shots last week...Taking advantage of the added minutes, Trisha Hermanson (Sr., 5-6, Buckley, Wa./White River) recorded season highs of 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and three treys off the bench vs. Cal State L.A...Jenny Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.), another reserve, established a new career high with 16 points as substitutes accounted for 56 points vs. CSLA...Autumn Fielding (So., 5-9, Kennewick, Wa.) scored a season-high nine points against Cal Poly Pomona...Quinn Brewe (Fr., 6-1, Lynnwood, Wa./Meadowdale) has not yet regained her shooting stroke from the early season, but did contribute 13 rebounds and made four steals last week...Smith moved into the career rebounding leaders after last week, and is now No. 10 (567) and will likely move up to No. 7 by the end of the season...The Falcons lead the GNAC in scoring (84.5), rebounding (44.8), shooting percentage (.479), three-point percentage (.382) and three pointers per game (7.64). On the other side of the ball, SPU leads the league with 5.5 blocked shots per game. The Falcons are holding opponents to 60.4 points a night, allowing 34.5 rebounds per game and allowing opponents to shoot just 29 percent from behind the arc, all of which rank second in the conference...Hermanson, who has made her last eight three-pointers over six games, is the GNAC accuracy leader at .667 (10-15). Brittney Kroon (Jr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.), now just six blocked shots away from the SPU career mark, remains the conference leader, averaging 3.82. Taylor is No. 3 in assists (4.7), Smith is third in rebounding (9.3) and field-goal percentage (.586) and Beaumont is No. 3 in free throw percentage (.870).

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.