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This Week
The Westminster women's basketball team heads to Jackson, Tennessee for the Jackson Rotary Classic. The Griffins will face three top-10 teams in three days, starting against No. 1 Union (Tenn.) on Thursday, November 19. That is followed with a Friday, November 20 game against No. 9 Lambuth. The trip concludes on Saturday, November 21, when they face No. 6 Freed-Hardeman. All three games will be played at Fred DeLay Gymnasium on the campus of Union University.

Westminster heads to Tennessee with a 3-2 overall record. They went 1-2 during the Westminster Fall Classic last weekend, with both losses coming against ranked opponents. The Griffins have gone 3-7 against ranked opponents over the past two seasons.

The 59 made 3-pointers by the Griffins this season currently ranks second in the country. Their average of 11.8 makes from deep per game is the third-best average in the NAIA. Westminster is shooting 49.3% from the field through the first five games and is 41.3% from beyond the arc. They also rank fourth nationally with an average of 21.2 assists per contest.

Keshia Catten currently leads the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game. Catten is shooting 50% from the field to rank second in the Frontier Conference. She also leads the conference with her 5.4 assists per game. Allie Eastman is second don the team and ninth in the Frontier in scoring at 13.4 per night. Eastman led the team in rebounds twice during the Fall Classic.

Live Media
There is a variety of options available to follow the Griffins during their weekend at the Rotary Classic. Live Stats and Live Audio will be available for all three games this weekend. There will also be Live Video available for the game against Union on Thursday. You can access all of these live features at westminstergriffins.com.

Women's Basketball Fast Break
•The last time Westminster started a season 3-2 was in 2006-07. That team finished 22-12 overall and advanced to the second round of the NAA National Championships.

•Westminster is 0-1 all-time when playing the No. 1 team in the country. The loss came in the only other meeting against Union during the 2007-08 season.

•The Griffins are 16-5 away from home over the past two seasons.

Quoting Coach Gustin
About the Jackson Rotary Classic
“If you want to be the best, you have to play the best. These are some good teams and good players and we are really looking forward to playing them in this setting.”

About facing No. 1 Union
“We have our hands full, and then to play them at home where they don't lose games is going to be a challenge.”

About the team's play last weekend
“I'm very happy with how we performed last weekend. We found out about Michelle (Pace) the night before we started so for us to respond the way we did, I'm very impressed with that.”

Inside the Series with…
No. 1 Union
Series Record: Union leads, 1-0
Current Streak: Union 1 win
Last Meeting: Union def. Westminster, 93-79 (12/1/07))

No. 9 Lambuth
Series Record: First meeting

No. 6 Freed-Hardeman
Series Record: First meeting

From Way Downtown
Once Again Westminster is not afraid to fire from long range. Through the first five games, Westminster is averaging 28.6 attempts from 3-point range per game. They are second in the NAIA with an average of 11.8 makes from that distance. The Griffins have connected on double-digit threes four times this season. It isn't a bad shot for the team, as they connect of 41.3% of those attempts to rank 14th in the country.

Keshia Catten averages 2.6 makes from long range this season to place her 32nd in the country in that category. Catten went 13-of-32 from distance and the 40.6% accuracy is the 11th-best in the Frontier Conference. Allie Eastman is even more accurate to start the season. Eastman has gone 10-of-24 through the first five games and ranks ninth in the Frontier at 41.7% accuracy.

Jessop Does it All
McKenzie Jessop is off to a great start t her senior season. Through the first five games of her senior season, Jessop is averaging 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. She also leads the team with 18 steals and is third with 14 assists.

She averaged 13 points per game during the Fall Classic and shot 63.2% from the floor. She made two free throws with three second left against the College of Idaho to seal the 93-31 Griffins victory. Jessop was named to the All-Tournament team for her play during the three games last weekend.

Fabulous Freshmen
Westminster has gotten big minutes from three freshmen during the opening five games of the season. Allie Eastman, Olivia Pierce-Eiselein, and Nicole Yazzie have all made starts at some point this season with Eastman and Yazzie playing more than 20 minutes per game. Eastman is currently second don the team in scoring at 13.4 points per night and Yazzie is second on the team with 22 assists and 10 steals. Pierce-Eiselein had 12 points and five rebounds against the College of Idaho on November 13.

Coaches Select Griffins Third
The Westminster women's basketball team was selected to finish third in the upcoming 2009-10 basketball season according to a poll of Frontier Conference coaches. Westminster received 38.5 points in the poll, finishing behind Lewis-Clark State and Carroll College. Lewis-Clark received seven first place votes and Carroll College received one.

In the Polls
Westminster received 45 points in the preseason NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on October 26. That put the Griffins just outside the top 25 in the 27th position. This is the first time since February 28, 2007 that the Griffins haven't been ranked in the top 25. This is the 30th consecutive week that Westminster has received votes in the poll with February 7, 2007 being the last time the Griffins received zero votes.

Next Week
The Griffins will spend the Thanksgiving Weekend in Olympia, Washington for two games at the Evergreen State Tournament. Westminster will face Evergreen State on Friday, November 27, and Northwest (Wash.) on Saturday, November 28.