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Nicole Lynch

Women's Basketball

Griffins Visit Florida for Two Games at Holiday Inn Express Invitational

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This Week

The 19th-ranked Westminster women's basketball team travels to Lake Wales, Florida to play two games at the Holiday Inn Express Invitational hosted by Warner University. While in the Sunshine State, Westminster will face Emmanuel College on Tuesday, December 29, and Union College (Ky.) on Wednesday, December 30. Both games will begin at 3 p.m. (ET) and be played at the Turner Athletic Center.

Westminster has gone 9-4 to begin the season and have won five straight games entering the week. They did suffer two exhibition losses against NCAA D1 opponents Utah and Southern Utah since their last NAIA competition. All four regular losses have come against teams ranked in the top 14, including both No. 1 Union (Tenn.) and No. 3 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.). Westminster picked up three home wins during the first week of December before the two exhibition loses. The Griffins scored a school record 112 points against Northern New Mexico during that stretch on December 3.

The Griffins are tops in the nation in field goal percentage at 50.9% through the first 13 games of the season. They have also recorded 250 total assists to rank second in the country. In total, Westminster is ranked in the top 10 in nine different statistical categories and the top five in seven of those categories. They are scoring 81.2 points per contest to rank 12th nationally and lead the Frontier Conference.

McKenzie Jessop is the team's leading scorer at 12.3 points per contest. She also leads the team in rebounding with 87 and steals with 40. She has led the team in scoring five times and been the top rebounder in seven games. Her 40 steals is the fifth most in the NAIA and she ranks 12th in free throw percentage at 87.8%.

Live Media
Live Stats will be available for both games at the Holiday Inn Express Invitational. Westminster will also offer Live Audio streamed over the internet with play-by-play from Information and Events Coordinator Josh Fisher. Fans can access these options by visiting westminstergriffins.com.

Women's Basketball Fast Break
•Westminster hasn't played a game that counts since an 82-55 win over Northern New Mexico on December 5.
•The Griffins lead the Frontier Conference in seven statistical categories.
•Westminster went 0-3 against in-state foes in exhibition games this season, matching the 0-3 they went last season.

Last NAIA Action
Northern New Mexico - December 3, 2009
The Westminster women's basketball team took advantage of playing at home for the first time in three weeks by running past Northern New Mexico 112-38. The 112 points scored by Westminster (7-4) is the most in school history and was anchored by a 58-6 advantage in points in the paint and a 64-9 advantage in bench points.

San Diego Christian - December 4, 2009
The Westminster women's basketball team defeated San Diego Christian 72-54. The win is the fourth consecutive for Westminster (8-4) and the second is as many nights. The Griffins shot 43.4% in the game while holding SDC (2-6) to just 33.3%.

Northern New Mexico - December 5, 2009
Playing a team they beat by 74 two nights earlier, the Westminster women's basketball team started sluggish before pulling away in the second half for an 82-55 win over Northern New Mexico. Westminster (9-4) started five regular reserves and were trailing 32-28 at halftime. With the regular starters playing much of the second half, Westminster outscored Northern New Mexico (0-11) 54-23 to take their fifth consecutive victory.

Inside the Series with…
Emmanuel
Series Record: First Meeting
Current Streak: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting

Union (KY)
Series Record: First Meeting
Current Streak: First Meeting
Last Meeting: First Meeting

From Way Downtown
Once Again Westminster is not afraid to fire from long range. Through the first 13 games, Westminster is averaging 24 attempts from 3-point range per game. They are fifth in the NAIA with an average of 9.69 makes from that distance and rank third in the country with 126 total makes. The Griffins have connected on double-digit threes eight times this season. It isn't a bad shot for the team, as they connect of 40.4% of those attempts to rank third in the country.

Nicole Yazzie leads the team with 29 triples. She ranks 17th nationally with 29 total makes and is second in the Frontier Conference with her 2.23 made per game. Keshia Catten is fifth in the conference at 1.69 makes per game. Allie Eastman and Dani Evans are also in the top 20 with 1.54 and 1.38 makes per game respectively.

Magical Mark
The Griffins are 6-0 this season when they score 80-plus points. They have gone 3-4 when they fail to reach the 80-point barrier, but have won the last three when this has happened. They have allowed the opposition to reach 80 points in four games and are 2-2 in those contests. In the past two seasons, Westminster is 23-0 when they score at least 80 points.

Reaching 100
Head coach JD Gustin reached 100 career wins on December 5 when the Griffins defeated Northern New Mexico. Gustin is in his sixth season at the helm of the program and has posted four straight winning seasons and three consecutive 20-win seasons.

Jessop Does it All
McKenzie Jessop is off to a great start in her senior season. Through the first 13 games of the season, Jessop is averaging 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She also leads the team with 40 steals and is second with 49 assists.
Jessop is fifth in the NAIA with her 40 total steals and is 12th nationally with her 87.8% from the free throw line. She ranks in the top 20 in the Frontier Conference in seven statistical categories. Jessop was also named to the Westminster Fall Classic All-Tournament Team.

Fabulous Freshmen
Westminster freshmen Allie Eastman and Nicole Yazzie have posted some solid numbers through the first eight games of their careers. Eastman scored in double-figures in the first seven games of the season and is currently second on the team in scoring at 12.2 points per contest. Yazzie leads the team with 55 assists and scores 12.1 points per game. She is averaging 15 points per game in games she has started.

In the Polls
The Westminster women's basketball team is ranked 19th in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on December 14. Westminster received 177 total points in the poll that was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The Griffins were at No. 20 in the poll released on December 7, and sat just outside the top 25 at No. 27 in the preseason poll.

NAIA Game of the Week
College Fanz Sports Network, launched by ESPN founder Bill Rasmussen, is partnering with members in the NAIA to present the College Fanz NAIA Basketball Game of the Week. The Westminster basketball teams will be featured as the game of the week on January 21, 2010 when they host Carroll College in Frontier Conference action in the Behnken Field House. The women's game will begin at 5:30 p.m. and be followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.

Next Up
Westminster opens Frontier Conference action with two games in the Behnken Field House. The Griffins host Montana State-Northern on Thursday, January 7, and Great Falls on Saturday, December 9. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m.
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