4 for 4-peat. After keeping its perfect home record intact, the Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball team packs its bags for the regular season’s final road trip. Trailing Western Washington by just one game in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings, the Falcons (13-1, 19-4) are heading north to Alaska with the objective of clinching a seventh straight 20-win season and getting a shot at their fourth consecutive league title. SPU takes a 12-game win streak into Thursday’s game (Feb. 23) at Alaska Anchorage (4-10, 11-12). The Final road test is at Alaska Fairbanks (3-11, 6-16) Saturday (Feb. 25). SPU hosts No. 8-ranked Western Washington Mar. 2.

Movin’ on up. Seattle Pacific made its first move up the NCAA Division II regional rankings last week, going from sixth to fifth. Currently, Cal State Bakersfield and Western are locked in a duel for the right to host the West tournament next month. It’s likely that next week’s battle between the Falcons and Vikings will determine the GNAC title, or whether it will be shared.

One last trip home. Thursday night will mark the fourth and final trip home for Seattle Pacific’s tower of power, center Brittney Kroon (Sr., 6-4, Wasilla, Ak.). With an average of 4.7 blocked shots per game, Kroon is leading the nation in that category. She also led the NCAA in 2004 and was No. 2 a year ago. Entering this week, Kroon holds every SPU and GNAC record for blocks and is No. 4 in NCAA career blocks with 404. She received the 2005 Honda Inspiration Award, in part for her successful comeback from a liver transplant in 2001. She was a three-time all-state selection in Alaska.

Dialing in. The Falcons moved to 11-0 at Brougham Pavilion this season and extended their home court winning streak to 36 games overall, 50 in GNAC play and 68 during the regular season, with convincing victories last week over Western Oregon (64-47) and Humboldt State (89-65). And while they look quite comfortable close to their home surroundings, the Falcons were stellar from long range. SPU shot a combined 15 of 33 (46 percent) from three-point range. Mandy Wood (Sr., 5-6, Port Angeles, Wa.) was the most prominent in the shooting clinic, drilling 8 of 13 from downtown. She set new career highs with 28 points and six treys against Humboldt State. Wood also surpassed 200 three-pointers for her career (206) and needs four more to move into No. 2 all-time in the conference. She’s chasing down Saint Martin’s senior Beth Layton, who increased her career total to 217.

Taking control early. After Northwest Nazarene provided the first scare of the past six weeks by coming within five points, the Falcons put away their two opponents early last week. They parlayed a smothering defense to take a 36-17 halftime lead in a 64-47 victory over Western Oregon. The Wolves shot just 28 percent in that first half. Seattle Pacific then revved up the offense and jumped out to a 44-28 halftime lead against Humboldt State. Eleven of the wins during the current streak have been by double figures, with an average margin of 21.1 points. Seattle Pacific ranks 19th nationally in scoring margin (plus 15.4 points).

Cleaning the glass. The Falcons have absolutely dominated the boards during their win streak, owning a plus 12.2 average rebounding margin. Forward Carli Grant (Sr., 5-11, Spokane, Wa./Valley Christian) has led the way with an average of 10.3 rebounds over the last 12 games. In the victory over Western Oregon, Grant, the GNAC’s all-time leading rebounder and current season leader (9.5), became the first in conference history to break 1000 for her career and just the second in program history to reach 1000 points and 1000 rebounds. She joins Tosca Lindberg (1989-93), who holds the board benchmark of 1125.

Put-backs. Another indication of the readiness for big games and postseason play is the defense. SPU has held six of the last eight opponents under 50 points and only one opponent during the win streak has managed to shoot over 40 percent from the field...The Falcons lead the GNAC in defensive field-goal percentage (.356) and blocks (5.9) and are No. 2 in scoring defense (61.0) and opponent three-point percentage (.299)...Kroon’s understudy, Kelsey Hill (6-2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian), scored a combined 22 points on 58 percent shooting last week. She also hauled down 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Hill had 14 points in just 18 minutes vs. Western Oregon...Autumn Fielding (Jr., 5-9, Kennewick, Wa.) rejoined the starting five last week, with Beth Christensen (So., 5-5, Enumclaw, Wa.) coming off the bench...Foul shooting was a problem early on, but SPU has hit 74 percent and outscored opponents 160-89 at the line during the win streak. In the four December defeats, it made just 67 percent...The Falcons, who are No. 2 in the GNAC and 14th nationally with a 45.8 shooting percentage and have six players ranked in the league’s top 13. They are also No. 2 in rebounding (+6.8) and scoring (76.5)..Christensen had 12 assists without a turnover last week to take over the conference playmaking lead with an average of 4.6 per game. She also ranks second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) and ninth in steals (1.8)...Wood ranks fifth in the league in scoring (15.0), second in assists (4.3) and third in three-pointers made (2.2)...Jenny Poe (Sr., 5-8, Enumclaw, Wa.) is listed among the GNAC top 20 in six categories: assists (3.0, 11th), shooting (.476, 12th), rebounding (5.7, 16th), free-throw percentage (.713, 16th), scoring (11.5, 17th) and steals (1.5, 20th).

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.