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SALT LAKE CITY – The ninth-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team will hit the road for the first time of the season as they travel to Jackson, Tenn. for the Jackson Rotary Classic this weekend.  Westminster will open the event against No. 2 Union (Tenn.) on Thursday.  The Griffins will then play sixth-ranked Bethel (Tenn.) on Friday.  They conclude the event against the other team tied for No. 6 in the rankings, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.).

Griffin Notebook
Westminster travels to Jackson at 3-2 on the year after going 2-1 during the Westminster Fall Classic last weekend.  They picked up wins over Cal Maritime and La Sierra and were defeated by the College of Idaho.  The Griffins have played all of their games at home to start the year.

Westminster ranks fifth in the Frontier Conference in scoring at 72.2 points per game.  They are shooting 41.2% from the field and 36.3% from beyond the arc.  The Griffins lead the league with an average of nine made threes per night and with 45 total threes.  They have a 1.28 assist-to-turnover ratio with an average of 15.6 assists per game.

Griffin opponents are averaging 62 points per game and are shooting 41.6% from the floor.  The opposition is connecting on 38.6% of their attempts from beyond the arc.  Westminster grabs 38.2 rebounds per game while holding the opponents to 33.4 per game.

Shelby Ellsworth leads the Griffins in scoring and rebounding.  The freshman is averaging 16.4 points per game while collecting 11 rebounds per night.  Nicole Yazzie is averaging 14.4 points per game with Dana Bates at 11.4 and Jenteal Jackson at 11.2.  Allie Eastman is also averaging double figures at 10.2 points per contest.

Jackson has a team-best 22 assists with Yazzie adding 21.  Ellsworth has picked up 13 steals to lead the team while Eastman is tops on the squad with three blocks.

Jackson Rotary Classic
Every game of the Jackson Rotary Classic will be streamed live on the web courtesy of the Union Communications Department.  There should also be live stats for every game during the event.  Links to the video and live stats stream can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com under the calendar.  More information about the Classic can be found at: http://www.uu.edu/athletics/tournaments/tournament.cfm?ID=92.

Against Union
Westminster is 0-3 all-time against Union including a 78-61 loss in the quarterfinals of last season's NAIA National Championship.  Westminster also dropped a 93-68 decision to Union during the 2009 Rotary Classic.

Against Bethel
Friday's game against Bethel will mark the second meeting between the Griffins and Wildcats.  The first meeting was a 60-46 win by Bethel on Dec. 30, 2004.

Against Freed-Hardeman
The Griffins have a 0-1 all-time record against Freed-Hardeman.  The first game came during the 2009 Rotary Classic where FHU defeated Westminster 101-74.

Looking Back
Westminster College got a huge night from Ellsworth in their 81-63 win over Cal Maritime. Ellsworth became the second player in school history to record 20 points and 20 rebounds in the same game as she finished the contest with a career high 23 points while matching the school record by grabbing 20 rebounds.

Westminster dropped a 66-61 decision against the College of Idaho on Friday. Westminster shot just 31.6% from the field in the game and connected on just nine of their 29 attempts from beyond the arc.  They recorded 10 assists on 18 field goals while only committing 11 turnovers.  Westminster held C of I to 41.2% shooting and forced them into 14 turnovers.

The Griffins completed the Westminster Fall Classic with an 80-51 win over La Sierra on Saturday. Westminster led just 33-29 at intermission before outscoring LSU 47-22 after the intermission.  The Griffins shot 57.1% from beyond the arc in the second half and finished the game with 11 makes from deep.  They finished the game at 50.9% from the field and had a 36-31 advantage on the boards.  Westminster held the visitors to just 35% shooting and forced them into 16 turnovers.

Chasing 20
The season begins with the Griffins looking for a sixth straight 20-win season.  The team had never had a 20-win year prior to the 2006-07 season when they won 22.  During the current five-year streak, the Griffins are averaging 25 wins per season and qualified for the NAIA National Championships each season.  Westminster set a school record with 28 wins last season.

Sharing the Rock
Westminster is again one of the Frontier's best when it comes to sharing the basketball.  The Griffins have 78 assists this season and rank third in the Frontier with an average of 15.6 per outing.  They are also 24th nationally with that average and seventh in total assists.  They are also second in the league with a 1.28 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Jackson and Yazzie are both in the Frontier top-10 in assists through two games.  Jackson is averaging 4.4 assists per night to rank third in the league and 30th nationally.  Yazzie ranks fourth at 4.2 assists per game and 35th in the NAIA.

Record Performance
Freshman Ellsworth matched a school record by collecting 20 rebounds in the Griffins win over Cal Maritime last Friday.  In 38 minutes played, the forward from Pasco, Wash. had 14 offensive rebounds and grabbed 13 boards after halftime.  She also posted the second 20-20 game in school history by scoring 23 points in the game.

Clutch at the Stripe
Westminster can be found first in the conference with a 78.4% free throw percentage.  They have shot above 70% at the stripe in four of the games and three times have been above 80%.  They are sixth in the NAIA in free throw percentage.

Yazzie leads the team by shooting 96.2% at the foul line.  She leads the Frontier by making 25 out of her first 26 attempts and started the year with 25 consecutive makes at the stripe.  She ranks 10th in the NAIA in free throw percentage and first among players that have missed an attempt.  Bates is fourth in the conference at 78.6% from the line.

Yazzie Named Preseason All-Conference
Yazzie was selected to the Preseason All-Frontier Conference team, commissioner Kent Paulson announced last month.  Yazzie was the only player from Westminster named to the five-player team.  She is a two-time all-Frontier Conference first team performer and was named honorable mention All-American for the second straight year last season.  The 5-foot-7 guard averaged 12.2 points per game in 2010-11 along with finishing third in the Frontier with 129 assists.

Frontier Coaches Select Griffins to Finish Second
In a poll of the Frontier Conference women's basketball coaches, Westminster was picked to finish second in the upcoming season.  Westminster is the three-time defending conference champion. The Griffins received 44 points in the poll along with two first-place votes.  The coaches picked conference tournament champion Lewis-Clark State as their preseason pick to win the 2011-2012 league title. Westminster was followed by Carroll College, Rocky Mountain College, Montana Western, Montana State-Northern, Montana Tech and the University of Great Falls. Lewis-Clark State received six first place votes.

National Poll Puts Griffins at No. 9
The Griffins will begin the season with a No. 9 national ranking in the 2011-12 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced last month.  Westminster received 222 points in the poll and the No. 9 ranking is the highest to start a year for the Griffins in school history.

Westminster has now been ranked in 23 consecutive polls dating back to the 2006 preseason poll.  That is the second longest such streak in school history and is just two behind the record of 25.  Westminster has a career 98-27 record as a ranked team and three times were ranked a school-record eighth.

Massey Ratings
Westminster sits at No. 33 in the latest edition of the Massey Ratings that were released on Sunday.  The Griffins slipped seven spots from the previous week and are third among teams from the Frontier Conference.  They are the 21st-ranked offense and have played the 61st-toughest schedule.

The Massey Ratings are compiled each week with new ranking being released on Sundays.  Kenneth Massey is the creator of the rating formula and all ratings can be found on his web site at www.masseyratings.com.