Welcome to Brougham. They’ve moved into the passing lane and are now pressing the pedal to metal. The Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team is barreling down the highway and, after some road kill, has now won five in a row going into a pair of homecoming week contests in Brougham Pavilion. Unbeaten at home for two-plus seasons, the Falcons (6-1, 12-4) are in a position to gain ground in both the NCAA Division II regional rankings and Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. This week they host Alaska Fairbanks (2-5, 5-10) Thursday evening (Jan. 26) and Alaska Anchorage (1-6, 8-8) in the Saturday (Jan. 28) homecoming afternoon doubleheader. Next week, SPU begins a stretch of three straight games at Seattle University.

Good times. The underlying feeling is that things are settling down and returning to normal following a couple of convincing wins, 76-56 at Humboldt State and 65-47 over Western Oregon. That gives Seattle Pacific an average winning margin of 18.8 during the win streak (average score of 75.4-56.6). The Falcons are shooting a respectable 44.8 percent from the field this month, while holding opponents to 32.9 percent. SPU is also out-rebounding foes by 13.0 boards per game.

Shot block fever. A key contributor to the latter two numbers is center Brittney Kroon (Sr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.). In the last four outings Kroon has blocked 26 shots and altered countless others. She showcased her offensive abilities with a season-high 16 points–just two shy of her career best–at Western Oregon and also finished with a total of 12 rebounds and 12 blocks in the two wins. Currently, Kroon is on track for her second NCAA shot-blocking crown. She leads the nation with an average of 4.7 for the season. With 370 rejections, she’s closing in on the No. 4 career mark (392) in NCAA history.

Good Wood. While the Falcons were focused on pounding the ball inside at Monmouth, they let the rock fly at Arcata. Mandy Wood (Sr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) lit up Humboldt State for 27 points in the victory, matching her career best and also a team season high. Wood drilled five three-pointers (eight attempts), marking the fourth time in her career she has made five triples in a game. Wood has topped the 20-point barrier four times this season and led the Falcons in scoring in eight games. For the season she’s averaging 14.8 points.

Poe-tent player. Energetic, fleet-footed wing Jenny Poe (Sr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.) has been contributing on both ends of the floor and consistently filling the various columns of the stat sheet in the process. Casually flirting with a triple-double, Poe chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the victory over Humboldt State. Her rebound and assist totals were both season bests. For the week Poe averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists, and committed just two turnovers. She also shot 9-11 from the foul line. For the season, Poe ranks among the GNAC top 20 in several categories: 12th in assists (3.0); 16th in rebounds (5.4), shooting percentage (.458) and free-throw percentage (.717); and 19th in both scoring (11.3) and steals (1.5).

Movin’ on up. Wood and Carli Grant (5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) are closing in on some impressive school and conference milestones. With 30 points last week, Wood is up to 1,102 in her career and is just 84 shy of cracking Seattle Pacific’s all-time top 10. She currently ranks 17th amongst the GNAC’s all-time scoring leaders. Wood is also fifth all-time in the GNAC with 189 career three-pointers, just 21 behind the record. Her 40.7 career three-point percentage is tops all-time at SPU. Grant is about to become only the second Falcon with 1000 points and rebounds. She’s at 963 and 936, respectively. Grant is just 16 boards shy of the conference record and her career shooting percentage of 51.9 ranks No. 7 at SPU.

Put-backs. Members of the 2005 NCAA runner-up team will receive their commemorative watches this week will be recognized at halftime of the men’s homecoming game...SPU was No. 6 in the initial West Regional rankings, behind UC San Diego, Cal State Bakersfield, Western Washington, Cal State L.A. and Chico State... Coach Julie van Beek may need to juggle her lineup this week, in light of some recent injuries. Jackie Hollands (So., 5-9, Oregon City, Or.) missed both games last week with a knee injury and Rachel Strand (Jr., 6-0, Shoreline, Wa./King’s) sat out the WOU contest with an elbow injury. In addition, Poe was injured at Western Oregon, and her status is uncertain...Strand tallied 10 points and eight rebounds at Humboldt State, and is averaging 8.0 points (59-percent shooting) and 4.3 boards during the win streak...Jessie Menkens (Jr., 5-10, Battle Ground, Wa./Prairie) had a season-high four assists at Western Oregon...Beth Christensen (So., 5-5, Enumclaw, Wa.) matched her career best with six rebounds at Humboldt State... Autumn Fielding (Jr., 5-19, Kennewick, Wa.) also matched her career high for rebounds in the game with four...Grant leads the GNAC in rebounding (8.7), Kroon in blocks and Christensen is No. 2 in assists (4.8). Wood ranks seventh in GNAC scoring and is also third in assists (4.3), and eighth in shooting percentage (.500)...Seattle Pacific ranks second in the conference and 19th in NCAA scoring (77.2), plus second in the league and 13th nationally with a 46.1 shooting percentage. The Falcons lead the conference in assists (22.4) and blocked shots (5.6)...In conference play, SPU is holding opponents to 35.5 percent shooting and Christensen is averaging 5.4 assists...The team won decisively despite shooting a collective 41 percent last week. At Humboldt State the Falcons compensated by shooting 9-20 outside the arc. At Western Oregon they were only 2-13 but Kroon, Grant and Kelsey Hill (Fr., -2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian) combined for 40 points, 22 rebounds and 18-30 shooting from the field.

Coaching Staff. Julie van Beek is in her first year as the Falcons’ head coach after building Nashville’s Trevecca Nazarene into an NAIA national power. After starting the program from scratch, van Beek’s last six squads reached the playoffs, including a national quarterfinal appearance in 2005. In nine years at the helm her record was 162-119. She is a native of Nampa, Id., and played at Northwest Nazarene. Michelle Skyles is the top assistant, having moved from a similar position at Eastern Washington. Skyles coached Jerome to the Idaho state 4A title in 2004. Sasha Anderson joins the staff following five years as head coach at Snohomish County Christian.

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 is $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.