On the road again. A stretch of five road games in the last seven will conclude in Idaho this weekend for a women’s basketball team bearing down on its 10th straight win and 10th straight trip to the NCAA Division II tournament. Seattle Pacific University (10-1, 16-4) meets its Great Northwest Athletic Conference travel partner, Northwest Nazarene (8-3, 13-6), Saturday night (Feb. 11). After that, SPU plays four of the final six regular season games at home, where it has won 34 in a row, beginning Feb. 16 versus Western Oregon.

Opportunity knocks. While Seattle Pacific is playing its best ball of the season, the hefty win streak has not translated to a rise in the NCAA West Region rankings. The Falcons remain No. 6 for the fourth week in a row, just ahead of Northwest Nazarene, which has won five in a row and rests just two games behind SPU for third in the conference standings. However, if Seattle Pacific should win, it might be sufficient to nudge past Cal State L.A. in the region. Cal State Bakersfield is No. 1, followed by GNAC leader Western Washington, UC San Diego and Chico State.

First name basis. There ought to be a few fans behind the SPU bench Saturday, since head coach Julie van Beek and assistant coach Michelle Skyles are both natives of Nampa and former NNU players. This will mark their first return to their alma mater for business purposes. During her playing career, van Beek twice led the Crusaders in scoring and was the top rebounder for three seasons. She remains among the career leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, and was honored by Northwest Nazarene as winner of the 2004 Young Alumnus Award. Skyles was a high school (Nampa Christian) and college teammate of van Beek. She set an NNU record for three-point shooting and also lettered in track and soccer. Later, Skyles guided Jerome High School to the Idaho 4A championship in 2004.

Getting defensive. The Falcons got downright defensive in their two road wins last week, allowing a total of just 81 points in victories over Seattle University (61-33) and Saint Martin’s (76-48). The former score was the fewest points allowed in 29 years, and the Redhawks were able to convert just 20 percent of their field goals. All nine victories during the current win streak have been by double figures, with an average margin of 23.0 points per game. Since December, SPU is holding opponents to a field-goal percentage of .314 and out-rebounding them by an average of 13.0 boards per game.

Milestones ahead. A few players could soon pass significant statistical milestones. Carli Grant (Sr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) has already become the GNAC’s rebounding career leader. Now Grant just needs four more points and 19 more rebounds to become the league’s first and the school’s second player to amass 1000 points and 1000 rebounds. Grant currently leads the GNAC in season rebounding (9.2). Brittney Kroon (Sr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.) is well on her way to her second NCAA blocked shot title in three years. With five more blocks, Kroon will become just the fourth player in Div. II history to reach 400 in a career. Finally, Mandy Wood (Sr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) needs only a pair of three-pointers to reach 200 for her career. She became the Falcons’ career leader, passing Lynne Roberts (196) last week. Wood is 17 points shy of cracking the SPU top 10 in career scoring.

Put-backs. Wood has led the Falcons in scoring the past four games and in six of the last seven, topping 20 on four occasions. Last week she had team highs of 28 points and 10 assists in the two wins...Jenny Poe (Sr., 5-8 Enumclaw, Wa.) returned to the starting lineup last week after coming off the bench while recovering from a knee injury. Poe accumulated 25 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the victories, including her first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds at Saint Martin’s. Poe shot a combined 60 percent from the field, including 5-6 at Seattle U...Jessie Menkens (Jr., 5-10, Battle Ground, Wa./Prairie) scored a career-high 12 points against Saint Martin’s...Seattle Pacific has jumped up to 10th nationally in shooting percentage (.466) and 14th in scoring (77.6). The Falcons also rank 18th nationally in scoring margin (15.5) and 25th in defensive field-goal percentage (.356)...Kroon leads the GNAC and nation with 5.0 blocks per game...Wood is fifth in the conference in scoring (15.3), third in assists (4.4), eighth in shooting percentage (.498) and 10th in three-point percentage (.374)...Beth Christensen (So., 5-5, Enumclaw, Wa.) ranks second in assists (4.6) and ninth in steals (1.85)...Although Seattle Pacific has been absent from the national rankings since December, it has crept back into contention. Its current vote tally would translate to No. 27...Kroon moved up to No. 9 in career rebounding last week. By the end of the season, she will likely double the number of career blocks of the former SPU career record-holder...Jessie Christensen (So., 5-9, Enumclaw, Wa.) scored a career-high six points at Saint Martin’s and Grant grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds. Grant now has seven double-doubles, second-most in the GNAC...Only one team Alaska Anchorage, .408) has managed to shoot better than 40 percent vs. SPU during the win streak.

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.