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Home, sweet Brougham. After a wild four games on the road, Seattle Pacific University hopes that a return home also translates to a return to form as the women’s basketball regular season enters the final two weeks. The Falcons (9-3, 16-7) repossessed first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and now come home to the friendly confines of Brougham Pavilion. They host an unpredictable Western Oregon (2-10, 3-20) Thursday (Feb. 22), then salute their seniors before Saturday’s (Feb. 24) titanic clash with second-place Western Washington (9-4, 17-7). Next week SPU visits fellow postseason contenders Northwest Nazarene and Seattle University.

Up for grabs. For the first time in the six-year existence of the GNAC, the stretch drive is more than a two-horse race. Five teams are still in contention for the championship, which SPU aims to finish with its fourth crown in five years. Defending champion Western Washington held first place following the Falcons’ 64-61 loss at Alaska Anchorage last week. But Seattle Pacific returned to the top slot after a 74-66 victory over Alaska Fairbanks and Northwest Nazarene’s upset of the Vikings. Western and Anchorage trail SPU by just one game in the loss column, with Northwest Nazarene and Seattle U. each another loss back. Going into last week, Seattle Pacific was No. 3 in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings, behind UC San Diego and Chico State.

Home cookin’. Precious few players in the GNAC know what it’s like to win a road game in Brougham Pavilion. After all, only two teams have done so in the last 68 tries. The Falcons are 11-1 at home this season, and 6-0 in league games. The lone loss was to North Dakota, currently No. 4 in the nation. None of the conference foes have come closer than nine points at SPU this season. Seattle Pacific is averaging 76.8 points and shooting 45 percent from the field on its home court.

Beth does it again. Two weeks ago she salvaged an apparent loss with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to win on the road. In the most recent outing floor-leader Beth Christensen (Jr., 5-5, Enumclaw, Wa.) carried the Birds again, netting a career-high 22 points to pace the win at Fairbanks. Christensen was clutch down the stretch, sinking 7 of 8 free throws in the final 98 seconds. She totaled 30 points in the two games last week, converting 13 of 15 from the line. Christensen, who leads the league at 4.8 assists per game, moved up to sixth in free-throw percentage (.796). She also is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) and ninth in steals (1.6).

A little of everything. All season long Coach Julie van Beek has had the good fortune of some quality players to call on from the bench. However, one player in particular, a versatile Libby Magnusson (Jr., 5-10, White Bear Lake, Mn.), has stepped up as the key reserve. Although a wing player, Magnusson can guard and run the point, and is also strong enough to defend and score inside. She scored 12 points in the victory over Alaska Fairbanks and has averaged 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists over the past three games.

Senior farewell. It’s emotional enough when SPU plays Western Washington, but Saturday’s game takes on added significance as Senior Night. Three key players– Autumn Fielding (Sr., 5-9, Kennewick, Wa.), Jessie Menkens (Sr., 5-10, Battle Ground, Wa./Prairie) and Rachel Strand (Sr., 6-0, Shoreline, Wa./King’s)–will be making their final pavilion appearance. The veteran of the squad is Strand, a four-year letterwinner and starting forward. Strand leads the GNAC in field-goal percentage (.548), and ranks first on the team in blocked shots (1.0) and third in scoring average (9.5). A three-year member of the program after transferring from Idaho, Fielding has had a superb second half of the season. She ranks second on the team in scoring (9.8) and leads in three-point accuracy (.412) and is second in free-throw percentage (.780). A transfer from University of the Pacific, Menkens is in her second season with the Falcons and has established herself as a long-range specialist. She is second on the team in three-point percentage (.300) and third in three-pointers made (1.2).

A world audience. Saturday’s Senior Night doubleheader will be streamed live on the Internet by CSTV. Fans can access the games at no charge at www.NCAAsports.com/DII.

Put-backs. Menkens missed last week’s games after being excused for personal reasons. She is expected to be back in uniform this week...With the victory over Fairbanks, Seattle Pacific snapped a two-game losing streak, its first consecutive conference losses since the GNAC began operations in 2001-02…Christensen tallied eight assists last week to become the 11th player in GNAC history with 300 for a career. Her 22 points was the most scored by an SPU player in last 28 games, dating back to last season...Strand’s 12 boards at Anchorage was one shy of her career high...Seattle Pacific leads the conference and ranks fifth in all of NCAA Division II with 19.0 assists per game…SPU is also 24th nationally in fewest turnovers (15.3) and 25th in free-throw percentage (.745)…Kelsey Hill (So., 6-2, Portland, Or./Portland Christian) scored in double figures in both games last week, finishing with 30 points and 14 rebounds on 10-for-19 shooting. She had 17 points and eight rebounds in the loss to Anchorage. Hill ranks 11th in the conference in scoring (11.7), fourth in rebounding (8.0) and sixth in field-goal percentage (.502)…Although they are a strong foul-shooting team, last week’s loss at Alaska Anchorage was essentially decided by free throws. SPU missed 10 of 21 while the Seawolves converted 17 of 23. In that game SPU hit 10 treys–the second-most this season. Magnuson made 3 of 6 and both Daesha Henderson (Fr., 5-8, Snohomish, Wa.) and Fielding each connected on a pair...The Falcons have won 10 straight games on Senior Night.

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.