Road tests ahead. With its offense humming again, the No. 2-ranked Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team goes on the road this week, seeking to maintain its lead in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. However, the road could prove bumpy. The Falcons (11-0, 19-1) take their 17-game win streak south to Lacey, Wa., Thursday (Feb. 10) for a bout with another postseason contender, Saint Martin’s (8-2, 14-5). On Saturday (Feb. 12), they visit Northwest Nazarene (3-7, 7-12). SPU returns to Brougham Pavilion next week to open its final home stand against Central Washington Feb. 19.

20-something. Having already assured themselves of their 18th straight winning season—a streak that began when Gordy Presnell took over the program in 1987—the Falcons’ next milepost has quickly come into focus. One more victory would clinch their sixth straight 20-win season and eighth in the past nine years. Meanwhile, some other streaks are still in play. Seattle Pacific has won 53 straight GNAC games and 79 of its last 80 regular season contests. The home win streak reached 25 last week. Presnell has averaged 21.4 wins per season during his tenure, and has taken teams to the playoffs 12 times, including eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II tournament.

Separation anxiety. Seven games remain on the regular season schedule, and the race for both the GNAC crown and the top seed in the West Region could crystallize in the next couple weeks. A three-way tie atop the CCAA will likely be broken this weekend. In last week’s regional poll, SPU was trailed by Western Washington, Chico State, Cal Poly Pomona and Saint Martin’s. The Falcons and Vikings meet in Seattle Feb. 26.

Mixing things up. After sputtering to their two lowest-scoring performances of the season, Seattle Pacific got back to its high scoring ways during homecoming week. Michelle Beaumont (Sr., 5-11, Bellingham, Wa./Sehome), the No. 3 scorer, moved into a reserve role to provide more punch off the bench, while Jenny Poe (Jr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.) replaced her as a starter. Beaumont responded by leading all players with a combined 28 points and SPU averaged 90 points in a pair of victories over Western Oregon (87-41) and Humboldt State (93-71). Seattle Pacific’s bench out-scored its counterparts 78-15. Beaumont shot 11-for-17 (65 percent) from the field and 5-for-7 (71 percent) from three-point range. As a team, Seattle Pacific hit 54 percent in the two wins, including a season-high 58.7 percent against Western Oregon.

Taylor still sizzling. Point guard Amy Taylor (Sr., 5-8, Shoreline, Wa./Shorewood) continues to stay hot for the Falcons. Like fellow senior Beaumont, Taylor sank five treys in the two wins and totaled 27 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Taylor, who ranks second on the team and 17th in the GNAC with a scoring average of 12.3, has averaged 14.3 points over the last four games and has shot 11-for-27 from three-point range.

Passing frenzy. One reason for the increased offensive production of Taylor has been the emergence of backup point guard Beth Christensen (Fr., 5-5, Enumclaw, Wa.), who seemed to create a basket nearly every time she touched the ball. Christensen’s increased playing time has allowed Taylor to see more action at the shooting guard position. In SPU’s two victories last week, Christensen tallied 10 points and 20 assists, including a career-best and GNAC season-high 12 assists against Western Oregon.

Put-backs. Seattle Pacific remained No. 2 behind Drury (Mo.) in the national rankings for the third week in a row, but picked up two first-place votes...The 41 points allowed against WOU equaled the fewest since holding the Wolves to 40 last season...Balanced scoring continues to fuel the Falcons’ firepower. Nine SPU players scored a total of 10 points or more in the team’s two wins last week, including four players with at least 20 and seven players with at least 16. The Falcons lead the league and rank seventh nationally with an average of 80.7 points per game, but do not have a player that ranks in the top 15 individually. However, SPU has five players that rank in the top 26 league scoring leaders. Along with Taylor, Mandy Wood (Jr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) leads the team and is 16th with 12.4 points per game. Beaumont ranks 24th with an average of 10.4, followed by Carli Smith, 10.0, and Brittney Kroon (Jr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.), 9.8...Smith totaled 21 points and 19 rebounds last week. She leads the GNAC with 9.6 rebounds per game and is second in the league in shooting percentage (.553). She moved up to No. 8 in career rebounding with 656...Beaumont needs 39 points to reach 1000 for her career...Kroon leads the GNAC in both shooting (.574) and blocked shots (3.6), the latter of which ranks seventh nationally. Kroon is also 11th in GNAC rebounding (6.9)...Wood is second in three-point field-goal percentage (.410), fifth in assists (4.0) and three-pointers per game (1.9) and 10th in shooting percentage (.482)...Taylor leads the league with a 1.9 assists-to-turnover ration. She is also fourth in both three-point percentage (.380) and three-pointers per game (2.3). Seattle Pacific leads the GNAC in scoring defense (.578) and ranks sixth nationally in scoring margin (22.8). SPU also leads the league in shooting percentage (.464), three-point percentage (.378), three-pointers made (7.1 per game), rebounding (44.2), rebounding margin (9.9), assists (20.8) and in holding opponents to a 35.1 shooting percentage.

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.