Complete release in PDF format

SALT LAKE CITY – The 13th-ranked Westminster women's basketball team returns home to face No. 5 Lewis-Clark State College in the only game of the week. Action in the Behnken Field House will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 22.

Westminster heads into the showdown at 16-4 on the year and 3-1 in the Frontier Conference. They have won three straight overall including two on the road last weekend. The Griffins defeated No. 22 Carroll 65-55 on January 13 and then took an 85-74 win over Rocky Mountain on January 15. The Griffins have also won two straight against nationally ranked opponents and are 2-2 against ranked opponents this year.

The Griffins lead the Frontier Conference in scoring at 76.5 points per game while shooting 45.2% from the floor. They rank fourth nationally in threes made per game at 8.5 and the 35.5% they shoot from beyond the arc is 17th in the country.

All five starters are averaging double figures in points this season led by Michelle Pace at 13.3. She shoots 58.2% from the floor to lead all Griffins and also collects 5.4 rebounds per game. Nicole Yazzie averages 12.1 points per night while ranking fifth in the Frontier in assists at 3.9 per game. Allie Eastman averages 11 points per contest while Jenteal Jackson and Dani Evans each post 10.3 per game.

About the Warriors
Lewis-Clark State comes to town with a 17-2 record and a No. 5 national ranking. They are 3-1 in the Frontier Conference after splitting two games on the road last week. The Warriors started the year with 11 consecutive wins and have now won six of seven. Jasmine Stohr leads the Frontier in scoring at 19.8 points per game while ranking 10th nationally. Stohr also leads the team in assists and steals. Kirsi Voshell grabs 8.9 rebounds per night and ranks ninth in the NAIA in blocks at 1.9 swats per game.

Griffins TV
Saturday's game will air live on Griffins TV. The broadcast will go live approximately 15 minutes prior to tipoff with Mike Lageschulte handling the play-by-play. Keshia Catten will be along providing color commentary. Head coach JD Gustin will be featured in the pregame show and then sit down with the crew following the game.

Live Stats
Live Stats will be available for the game on Saturday. Fans can access the Live Stats at WestminsterGriffins.com with the feed going live about 10 minutes prior to tipoff.

Chasing a Championship
With a 3-1 start, Westminster sits in a three-way tie atop the Frontier Conference standings with 10 games remaining. The Griffins are going for a third consecutive conference title this season after never finishing higher than third before the 2008-09 season. The current magic number to clinch a third straight title is 11.

Chasing 1,000
Senior Dani Evans is on a quest to become the fifth player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Evans enters the week with 900 career points and needs to average 9.1 points per game over the remaining scheduled games to reach 1,000. Evans has never missed a game in her Griffin career and if that continues she will finish her career having played in more games than any other Griffin.

Open for Three
The Griffins are once again among the top 3-point shooting team in the nation. The team averages 8.3 makes from beyond the arc per game to rank first in the Frontier and fourth in the NAIA. The Griffins 166 made triples trail only the 263 made by Olivet Nazarene in the NAIA. Westminster also shoots 35.5% from long range to rank second in the conference and 17th nationally. Dani Evans makes 42.4% of her attempts from beyond the arc while making 1.85 per game. Nicole Yazzie averages 2.35 treys per night while shooting 37.3% from distance.

From the Charity Stripe
Westminster is shooting 76.2% from the foul line this season to lead the Frontier Conference. The team is third in the NAIA with that percentage. They have shot above 71% at the stripe in eight straight games and four times in that stretch have been above 80%. Westminster 27-of-33 (81.8%) during last week's road trip and are shooting 79.3% in four conference games. Jenteal Jackson is shooting 78.5% at the stripe which ranks 46th nationally and fifth in the conference. Nicole Yazzie ranks seventh in the Frontier at 76.9% from the line.

Home Cooking
Over the past three seasons, Westminster has gone 34-6 at home including a 15-1 mark in Frontier Conference action. They started the year with seven straight home wins before suffering an 88-76 loss to Montana Tech on January 6. The Griffins have won 20 of the last 22 games played in the Behnken Field House.

Streaking in the Poll
With a No. 13 ranking in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on January 17, Westminster has now been ranked inside the top 25 for 15 consecutive polls. They have also been ranked in the top 25 in 40 of the last 41 polls and received votes in the poll they weren't ranked. The Griffins started this season at No. 10 and have been as low as No. 15.

Massey Ratings
Westminster sits at No. 16 in the Massey Ratings that were released on January 17. They moved up six spots from the previous week and have a rating of 0.758 to rank second in the Frontier Conference. The conference as a whole is rated as the No. 2 conference overall, trailing just the Golden State Athletic Conference.

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.

Next Week
Westminster will remain at home for two games next week in the Behnken Field House. Great Falls visits SLC for a 5:30 p.m. game on Thursday, January 27 before MSU-Northern comes to town on Saturday, January 29 at 5:30 p.m.