For sprinters, getting off the starting block as swiftly as possible can make all the difference. It's no different for the SPU women's basketball team, who came out red-hot this week, capitalizing on two road games to bring their record to 24-0 overall and 15-0 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

On Thursday night at Connolly Center, the No. 2 Falcons went on a 16-2 run and jumped out to a 34-20 halftime lead versus their cross-town rival Seattle University (SU) before going on to win by a final score of 69-39. It was the least amount of points the Redhawks (14-9 overall, 5-9 GNAC) have scored all season and the second largest scoring margin for the Falcons.

With 13:21 left in the first half, the scoring onslaught began with a jump shot by sophomore forward Megan Hoisington to give the Falcons a 10-8 lead.

Over the next seven minutes, the Redhawks went 0-4 from beyond the arc and missed seven of their eight shots, including a missed layup on a fast break by SU guard Jackie Thomas.

The Falcons took a 24-10 lead and exchanged baskets with SU until halftime. SPU went on a 12-2 run in the second half, and at one point, increased their lead to 35 points.

The Falcons forced SU into 21 turnovers and held them to 28.6 percent shooting from the field. The Falcons, who are averaging 17 turnovers a game, only committed 11 on Thursday.

"We have really focused on being a lot more patient with the basketball..." Falcon senior guard Jackie Hollands said. "It has been our goal to keep our turnovers below 14, and we are really starting to make that a major focus as we approach playoffs."

Hollands led all scorers with 12 points while junior center Kelsey Hill and sophomore guard Daesha Henderson also pitched in with 10 points each. Henderson shot a perfect 5-5 from the field.

The Falcons came out with the same fire on Saturday when they defeated the Montana State University, Billings Yellowjackets (9-14 overall, 6-8 GNAC) by a score of 82-63 at Alterowitz Gym. The Falcons went on a 20-6 run to start the game.

"Getting big leads from the start were key in our ability to win by double figures in each of the games..." Hollands said.

Hollands again led all scorers with 16 points and had a season-high eight assists. Fellow senior forward Libby Magnuson contributed 15 points and two steals.

The Falcons held conference-leading scorer Alira Carpenter (who is averaging 20.3 points per game) to 13 points on 7-16 shooting.

With the two victories, the Falcons finish their conference road games with a perfect 9-0 record. In their final three games of the regular season, the Falcons look to prepare for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) West Regional tournament, which starts on March 14.

"In these final games I hope that we can continue to do the little things that will help us get that much closer to a regional championship," Hollands said. "...maintaining a strong defensive presence, increasing our rebounding, less turnovers and [having] patience with the basketball on offense."

Despite the two lopsided victories this week, the Falcons were out-rebounded on Saturday versus the Yellowjackets 29-40, and even with a 30 point victory, just barely edged the Redhawks 39-38.

Falcons head coach, Julie van Beek said rebounding is an area she wants her team to improve on in these last three games of the season. As of late, the Falcons have not been playing "complete games" for the whole 40 minutes, van Beek said. While every game will have mistakes, she wants her team to make aggressive mistakes and not carelessly turn the ball over by losing focus.

If SPU wins one more game, or the University of Alaska, Anchorage (UAA) loses one, the Falcons clinch the GNAC title as the No. 1 seed. Since SPU defeated UAA both times this season, a tie would automatically grant SPU the No. 1 seed.

Despite being slightly banged up by physical play throughout the course of the season, van Beek expects her team to be healthy and ready for post season. Sophomore forward Megan Hoisington continues to recover from a partially torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) she suffered earlier this season and plays with a knee brace each game.

Even if the Falcons clinch the No. 1 seed with a win on Thursday, it is no excuse to let up, or make any significant lineup changes, van Beek said. In the final games she hopes her team can improve and play best basketball they can.

The Falcons finish up their season versus Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) on Saturday, and then Western Oregon (8-15, 4-10 GNAC) and Saint Martin's (15-8, 8-6 GNAC) the following week on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. The last time SPU and NNU (17-7, 10-5 GNAC) met, the Falcons edged out a victory in Idaho 68-67.