Laura Easley/The Falcon Senior Beth Christensen grapples for the ball with Western Washington at Royal Brougham Saturday night against Western Washington, SPU won 58 - 48.

If you tried to give one of the Falcon players a bouquet of flowers last week, she may have just swatted them right back in your face. Don't take it personally though; she was probably just preparing herself for two of the most physical home games of the season.

On Saturday's game versus Western Washington University (WWU), Falcons sophomore guard Daesha Henderson sprinted down the court with 39 seconds left and swatted Viking guard Marelle Moehrle's three-point shot into the second row of seats. The block helped clinch a 58-48 win for the Falcons, who now are 22-0 overall and 13-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

"Honestly, the swat felt amazing," Henderson said. "I don't even know exactly how it happened. I was just sprinting down the court, my adrenaline racing. I saw the girl catch the ball and just flew out at her....Then I heard the crowd go wild and walked back towards my teammates who were all enthusiastically giving me butt-pats and high-fives and I couldn't help but smile."

The last time these two teams met, SPU handed WWU their worst home court loss in school history, defeating the Vikings 86-44. The Vikings, who have been plagued by injuries all season, used their 16th different starting lineup.

"We've really learned how valuable each person is, and how important it is to stay together through difficult times," Viking forward Sarah Schramm said about the injuries to her team.

With 8:03 left in the first half, Schramm wrestled in the air for a rebound and, in a frightening collision, slammed her head against the floor. She remained lying down for a few minutes before she walked off the court with little assistance.

"I'm doing alright..." Schramm said after the game. "I was never unconscious, just in a lot of pain and dizzy."

With three minutes left in the first half, the Vikings took their largest lead of the game of four points, before SPU finished on an 8-2 run to set the score at 27-25 at halftime.

Later, Falcons senior guard Jackie Hollands also had to take a seat after scrambling for a loose ball at midcourt when a WWU defender tumbled over her head. Hollands managed to return in the second half, however, and hit two three-pointers to put the game out of reach for the Vikings.

On top of the emphatic block, Henderson ended with six points, two steals and six rebounds. Hollands led the Falcons in scoring, finishing with 12 points, four steals and three assists. Senior guard Beth Christensen also chipped in with nine points, six assists and three steals.

The Falcons dominated in the paint, out-scoring the Vikings 40-18. They also held the rebound advantage, 40-34.

"I think the way our team dealt with the all the physical play shows our true character and what a strong team both mentally and physically we are," Henderson said.

This physical win came after a Valentine's Day victory where the Falcons defeated Central Washington University (CWU) Wildcats by a score of 61-53. They finished with a season-high 11 blocks on the game.

Leading the charge, junior center Kelsey Hill finished with four blocks, seven rebounds and also scored a team best 13 points. Off the bench, red-shirt freshman Melissa Reich tied her fellow center with four blocks and ended with nine points and six rebounds.

"I guess we all just had an extra pep in our step that night," Reich said of the 11 blocked shots.

Up by as many as 14 points late in the first half, the Falcons saw their lead slowly slipping away. The Wildcats managed to make it a three-point game with 7:23 left when center Hillary Tanneberg tipped-in a basket off her own missed shot.

After swarming defense by the Falcons, which held CWU to just seven points in the last seven minutes, the SPU women managed to pull away.

The game ended with another physical exclamation point, as senior forward Libby Magnuson blocked the three-point shot of Wildcat senior forward Hanna Hull with 38 seconds to end any hope of a comeback.

The Falcons gave up 23 offensive rebounds, the most they have all year, and were out-boarded by the Wildcats 49-44.

The last 11 seasons the Falcons have made it to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, but have never been crowned champions. After losing to Chico State last year in the Western Region title game, the Falcons made it a goal to host the regional tournament in March, head coach Julie van Beek said.

"...Since most of us are [returning], we have experience in the tournament and know what it's like to walk away with a bitter feeling of losing," Henderson said.

This year, however, the Falcons are a perfect 22-0, 13-0 in conference play. As for now, all they know is how to win.

The Falcons finish up their GNAC schedule with just five games remaining. Their last road trip of the season will start at Seattle University (14-7, 5-7 GNAC) on Thursday and Montana State University Billings (8-13, 5-7 GNAC) on Saturday.