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Bags packed. The last four weeks have been great Seattle Pacific University women’s basketball fans. Now it’s a great time to be the Falcons’ travel agent. The next four and six of the final eight regular season games will be played on the road. A winner in eight of the last nine games, SPU (7-1, 14-5) starts this stretch in possession of first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. The travels are rather short this week, with trips to Saint Martin’s (1-8, 5-15) Thursday (Feb. 8) and Central Washington (3-6, 13-7) Saturday night (Feb. 10). Next week takes the team north to Alaska.

Getting defensive. The Falcons shot just under 50 percent from the field in a air of home victories over Northwest Nazarene and Seattle University, including 55 percent against the neighboring Redhawks. But it was a pressure defense which defined the two performances. SPU held both teams under 60 points, and has now held six of its eight GNAC opponents (and 10 altogether) to no more than 60. All of this bodes well for a team bound for the postseason, where stout defense tends to translate into bracket advancement.

West is wild. Going into last week’s games, Seattle Pacific stood sixth in the topsy-turvy West Region rankings for NCAA Division II. Following a wild weekend in the CCAA, there’s no telling how far the Falcons may have risen. The No. 1 team and defending regional champion, Chico State, lost by 17 at home to the No. 2 team, UC San Diego. It was the Wildcats’ second defeat in three outings. Cal State Dominguez Hills, rated fourth, lost twice and No. 3 Humboldt State split. Up in the GNAC, results followed form, with No. 5 Western Washington and SPU winning out. The GNAC and CCAA champions both earn automatic playoff berths, with a total of eight teams qualifying for the regional.

Jacked by Hollands. More acclaimed for her long-range shooting, Jackie Hollands (Jr., 5-9, Oregon City, Or.) sparked the Falcon defense against Northwest Nazarene, stealing the ball eight times–one shy of the school record. Hollands’ quickness cutting through screens and into the passing lanes led to several transition baskets in a 79-56 victory. SPU scored 23 points off 22 NNU turnovers and totaled 18 fast-break points. The Falcons forced the Redhawks, the GNAC’s leader in fewest turnovers, into 16 mishaps and converted those into 21 points to rally from an early 14-point deficit and prevail, 68-59.

Hill top. Arguably the most consistent offensive threat all season long, center Kelsey Hill (So., 6-2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian) put forth two of her finest performances last week. Hill was dominant at times inside, scoring 38 points in the two wins. She also grabbed 16 rebounds and had five assists and three steals to earn GNAC co-player of the week honors. Hill has been coming on strong, raising her scoring total in each of the last five games. She popped for 17 against Northwest Nazarene and had a career-high 21 against Seattle U. It was just the second 20-point performance by a SPU player this season. Hill scored eight points in the final 11 minutes to help the Falcons pull away. She made 15-of-23 shots and now ranks third in the league in shooting percentage (.524).

Taking the easy ones. Two weeks ago, the Falcons used a record performance in three-point shooting to get past the opposition. Last week, SPU reverted back to the more conventional means of offensive efficiency. Seattle Pacific’s solid shooting was a direct reflection of its ability to get the ball inside for opportunistic scoring opportunities. The Falcons outscored its opponents 78-40 in the paint, and also converted on 28 of 35 (80 percent) trips to the free-throw line. SPU has shot 86 percent (43-50) from the charity stripe over the past three games, and sealed the victory over SU by making all 10 fouls shots in the final minute. The Falcons are No. 1 in the conference and 10th in NCAA free-throw accuracy going into this week (.767).

Packing list. She earned her 200th career coaching win versus Seattle U., but Julie van Beek now turns her attention to getting the same performance out of her squad on the road as at home. The Falcons are 3-4 in road and neutral games, compared to 11-1 in Brougham Pavilion. Offensively, they have found a rhythm and established their inside game while encamped at home much of the past month. During their road woes of December, the Falcons often were quick to pull the three-point trigger and, consequently, their away shooting percentage is 37 percent, compared to 45 at home.

Put-backs. Rachel Strand (Sr., 6-0, Shoreline, Wa./King’s) totaled 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting, padding her lead as the GNAC’s top percentage shooter (.567)...Brougham Pavilion continues to hold its merit as one of the toughest courts around. Seattle Pacific has won seven straight home GNAC games and 66 of the last 68…With the win over Seattle University, Seattle Pacific has won seven straight homecoming games and 13 of the past 14 since 1993…Jessie Christensen (Jr., 5-9, Enumclaw, Wa.) had 10 points, three rebounds and three assists in the win over Northwest Nazarene. Her older sister, Beth Christensen (Jr., 5-5, Enumclaw, Wa.), scored 11, including eight of the 10 game-clinching free throws down the stretch, in the win over Seattle University. The GNAC’s assist leader (4.7), Beth also had four assists and four steals…The Falcons are one of just three GNAC teams holding opponents to under 60 points (59.6)…SPU’s shooting percentage, second overall in the GNAC at .419, is up nearly 10 points since the new year and at .449 in conference games. The Falcons lead the conference and rank No. 10 nationally in free-throw shooting (.767)…Hill moved up to 12th in the league in scoring (11.6) and remains third in rebounding (7.9)…Along with her league-leading shooting percentage, Strand ranks eighth in rebounding (6.7) and fifth in blocked shots (1.0)…Hollands is seventh in steals (1.8)...SPU is averaging 76.1 points at home, nearly 17 more than on the road.

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.