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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's basketball team opens the 2011-12 season this weekend with two games at the Westminster Tipoff Classic.  Westminster starts the year on Friday at 5 p.m. against No. 20 Westmont (Calif.).  The Griffins will then play Northern New Mexico on Saturday at 5 p.m.  Every game of the Tipoff Classic will be played in the Behnken Field House.

Griffin Notebook
Friday begins a new era for Westminster as Shelley Jarrard begins her tenure as the head coach of the Griffins.  Jarrard took over the program in June after former head coach JD Gustin stepped down.  This will be the first time Westminster has played with a new head coach since 2003.  Jarrard is the fourth head coach in the program's history.

Jarrard takes over a team that went 28-7 and advanced to the quarterfinal of the NAIA National Championships for the first time ever last season.  This year's team returns seven players from last season, including three starters.  The current roster features just two seniors and six juniors.

Westminster averaged 74 points per game last season and were third in the NAIA with 281 made threes.  The Griffins were fourth nationally in free throw percentage at 75.7% and seventh with 560 assists.  In all, Westminster was ranked in the NAIA top 50 in 18 statistical categories.

Nicole Yazzie is the top returning scorer after she went for 12.2 points per game in 2010-11.  Yazzie led last year's team with 129 assists and ranked 13th nationally with 80 makes from beyond the arc.  Allie Eastman returns after missing the final 11 games with a knee injury.  Eastman scored 11.2 points per game while grabbing 3.9 rebounds.  Dana Bates is the top returning rebounder after grabbing 4.7 boards per night last season.

Game Coverage
Both Westminster games will be broadcast live on the web on Griffins TV.  Dan Clayton will provide the play-by-play on Friday and then Mike Lageschulte returns to the microphone on Saturday.  Lance Barton will be along both nights to provide color commentary.  The pregame show begins at approximately 4:45 p.m.

Live Stats will also be available for both games this weekend.  The feed begins at tipoff and can be followed on your computer or mobile device.  Links for both the Live Stats and Griffins TV can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com on the day of the games.

Promotions
Friday's game is “Nest Night” with students encouraged to show up early to get your brand new Nest T-Shirt at the ticket table.  The new posters will also be available at the door for the first 50 fans.  The Westminster Dance Team will make their inaugural performance at halftime of the game.  Saturday is “Family Night” with admission being discounted $1 for up to five people.

Against Westmont
Westminster and Westmont have met three times in the past.  Westmont has posted two wins in those meetings, including a 93-78 win last year in Santa Barbara, Calif.  The teams have split two meeting in Salt Lake City with the Griffins winning 84-82 in 2005 and Westmont claiming a 72-63 win in 2009.

Against Northern New Mexico
Saturday's game will be the sixth all-time meeting in the series.  Westminster is a perfect 5-0 in those meetings and are 3-0 at home in the series.  The two teams met twice in 2009 with the Griffins winning 112-38 and 82-55.

Looking Back
The 2010-11 season saw several firsts for the Westminster women's basketball team. They finished the year 28-7 overall and 12-2 in the Frontier Conference. The 28 wins set a record for most wins in a season in school history. They were champions of the Frontier Conference for a third straight season.

The Griffins went 13-3 in the non-conference portion of the schedule, including two wins over a Cal Baptist team that spent much of the year ranked in the NAIA top 10. Westminster would climb as high as No. 8 in the NAIA poll that was released on February 7. That is the highest the team has been ranked in school history. After earning the top seed for the conference tournament, Westminster defeated Great Falls in the quarterfinal round. They dropped a 64-63 decision at the buzzer to No. 5 seed Carroll in the semi-finals.

Westminster earned the No. 8 overall seed at NAIA National Championships and defeated Rogers State in the first round. The Griffins then defeated William Woods to advance to the quarterfinals of the national championships for the first time in school history. The season came to an end with a 78-61 loss to No. 1 seed Union.

One Shy of 200
As Westminster begins the 13th season of women's basketball on Friday, the program sits just one win shy of 200.  Westminster has compiled a 199-167 record in the first 12 years.  The first-ever win was a 57-53 decision over Fort Lewis on Nov. 20, 1999.  The school's 100th career victory was against William Penn on Nov. 24, 2007.

Season Openers
Westminster is just 5-7 all-time in season openers since 1999.  The Griffins have been better lately, winning the first game of the year in each of the past four years.  The only other opening night win came against Fort Lewis in 2000.

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 six-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 finished seventh in the NAIA last season with 560 assists as a team.  They averaged 16 assists per game which was 12th in the nation.  The Griffins recorded a double figure assist total in all but six games last season and had 12 games with at least 20 helpers.

Yazzie and Jenteal Jackson were both in the top-five in the Frontier Conference assist rankings.  Yazzie ranked third in the league with 129 assists while Jackson was fifth with 120 dimes.  Yazzie was 29 nationally and Jackson placed 45th with those totals.

Clutch at the Stripe
Westminster shot 75.7% at the foul line last year and led the Frontier Conference while ranking fourth in the NAIA.  The team shot above 80% at the stripe in 13 games and five times were above 90%.

Jackson led the Frontier at the line and was 16th nationally by shooting 82.2%.  She finished the season by making all of her last 13 attempts from the line which was her longest such streak of the year.  Yazzie was an 80% shooter at the charity stripe and had a stretch of 22 consecutive makes during November.

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 97-26 record as a ranked team and three times were ranked a school-record eighth.

Massey Ratings
Westminster starts the year at No. 17 in the preseason Massey Ratings.  The preseason ratings are based on results and stats from last season.  Westminster is listed as the 12th-best offense and having the 17th-toughest schedule.  New ratings are released each Sunday throughout the season.

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.

Looking Ahead
Westminster will remain at home next week for three games during the Westminster Fall Classic.  They will play Cal Maritime on Nov. 10 and then play College of Idaho on Nov. 11.  The Griffins conclude the Classic on Nov. 12 with a game against La Sierra.