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SALT LAKE CITY – The 10th-ranked Westminster women's basketball team begins the 2010-11 season with three games in California this weekend. The season opens on Friday, October 29 against San Diego Christian with a game at fifth-ranked Vanguard on Saturday, October 30. Westminster will take a day off before facing La Sierra on Monday, November 1.

Westminster enters this season after going 27-7 in 2009-10 and winning a second consecutive Frontier Conference championship with a 13-1 conference mark. The Griffins advanced to the second round of the Division I Women's Basketball National Championship, picking up an opening round victory over Lambuth, 67-55. During the year, Westminster put together a 13-game winning streak and ascended as high as No. 9 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll.

This year's team welcomes back nine players and three starters from the 2009-10 squad. The returners accounted for 56% of the total points scored last season along with 52% of the rebounds and 57% of the assists. Last year's team led the nation in both field goal percentage (.483) and 3-point field goal percentage (.401).

Nicole Yazzie returns this season after being named an honorable mention All-American during her freshman campaign. Yazzie finished second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game while leading the Frontier Conference in assists at 4.66 per night. Also back are seniors Dani Evans and Angela Fales. Evans ranks ninth in school history with 695 career points and is sixth in games played at 99. Fales averaged four points and four rebounds during her junior year with the Griffins.

Griffins TV
The Westminster Athletics Department recently partnered with Penn Atlantic to provide fans the opportunity to watch home athletic events live on the internet. Griffins TV will broadcast select Westminster events for FREE for fans to watch on their computers. All Westminster women's basketball home games will be available on Griffins TV with Mike Lageschulte providing the play-by-play. For a complete schedule visit WestminsterGriffins.com/GriffinsTV.

Live Stats
All home games this season will feature Live Stats. The feed goes live shortly before first serve so fans can get all the action directly on their computer or mobile device. Visit www.WestminsterGriffins.com to access the Live Stats.

Offensive Notebook
Westminster averaged 76.9 points per game last season and ranked 11th in the NAIA in that department. The Griffins led the nation in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage while ranking third in 3-point field goals made with 318. Westminster also distributed the ball well with 17.5 assists per game to rank fifth nationally.

Nicole Yazzie was 10th nationally with her 4.7 assists per game and 11th with 149 total assists. Allie Eastman ranked 13th in the country with her 40.8% shooting from beyond the arc with Yazzie ranking 16th at 40.5%. Among the returners, Yazzie, Eastman, Michelle Pace and Dani Evans al averaged double figures in scoring one year ago.

Defensive Notebook
Westminster attacked the ball last season, ranking 17th in the NAIA with 368 steals and 30th in steals per game at 10.8. The Griffins held the opposition to 38.5% shooting from the field while collecting 26.1 defensive rebounds per contest. They also blocked 102 shots at a clip of three per game to rank in the top 35 in each category. The 64.3 points per game they allowed was the 48th-best total in the country.

Olivia Pierce-Eiselein was 22nd in the NAIA with 48 blocked shots and set the school record for blocks in a season with that total. She is already third in school history in career blocked shots after just one season with the Griffins. Eastman and Yazzie each finished in the top 10 of the Frontier Conference in steals per game while Yazzie and Evans were in the top 20 in the Frontier in defensive rebounds.

Frontier Favorites
In a poll of the Frontier Conference women's basketball coaches, the Westminster women's basketball team was chosen to win the 2010-11 championship. The Griffins received five first-place votes and 47.5 total points in the poll. They also received a split first-place vote with Lewis-Clark State College. This is the first time the Griffin shave been chosen to win the league and the first time they have received a first-place vote.

Nation Taking Notice
The Westminster women's basketball team will start the 2010-11 season with a No. 10 national ranking. The NAIA Women's Division I Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll was released by the NAIA on October 25 with the Griffins receiving 223 points to earn the highest preseason ranking in school history. Westminster finished last season ranked ninth in the final poll.

Doubling Up
Westminster will play on back-to-back nights 10 times during the 2010-11 season. The Griffins played nine back-to-backs last season and came up with six sweeps and three splits. The team went 9-2 in the first game of the back-to-back and matched that with a 9-2 record in the second night.

Home Cooking
Over the past two seasons, Westminster has gone 26-5 at home including a perfect 14-0 in Frontier Conference action. They have won 17 straight conference home games dating back to the 2007-08 season with the last conference home loss coming on January 24, 2008 to Carroll, 66-56.

Handling Their Business
The Griffins went 24-0 against teams that were not ranked in the NAIA top 25 last season. Over the past two seasons, Westminster is 48-2 against non-ranked opponents. The last unranked team to defeat Westminster was Georgetown College (Ky.) on December 6, 2008. That is a span of 40 straight wins over unranked opposition.

Next Week
Westminster will be at home for the first time this season when they welcome Concordia (Ore.) and Warner Pacific to Salt Lake City for the Westminster Tipoff Classic. The Griffins will open at home with Concordia at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, November 5. On Saturday, November 6, Westminster will face Warner Pacific at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Behnken Field House on the campus of Westminster College.