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SALT LAKE CITY – The ninth-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team returns home after taking a week off to play host to the Griffins Invitational this weekend.  Westminster will play Holy Names on Thursday at 6 p.m. and then host Simpson at 4 p.m. on Saturday.  Montana Tech and Montana State-Northern will also be in town for games this weekend.  Every game of the Invitational will be played in the Behnken Field House.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster enters the week at 3-5 overall and hasn't played a game since November 19.  They have gone 3-2 at home this season and started the year with five straight home games.  The current three-game losing streak in the longest since 2008.

The Griffins average 66.5 points per game and rank fifth in the Frontier Conference in that category.  They shoot 39% from the field and 32.6% from beyond the arc.  The team averages 7.6 made threes per outing and also collect 12.6 assists and 6.4 steals.

Westminster opponents are averaging 63.6 points per contest and are shooting 41% from the floor.  The opposition is connecting of 40.1% of their attempts from distance.  The Griffins grad 33.9 rebounds per game and have a 2.4 rebound advantage per game.

Shelby Ellsworth leads the team in scoring and rebounding.  Ellsworth averages 13.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and ranks in the Frontier top-10 in both categories.  Dana Bates is scoring 13 points per game while grabbing 6.3 rebounds.

Nicole Yazzie leads the team with 32 assists while Jenteal Jackson has added 27 helpers.  Ellsworth is tops on the squad with 14 steals and Allie Eastman leads all Griffins with four blocked shots.  Jackson has a 1.69 assist-to-turnover ratio with Yazzie posting a 1.52 ratio.

Game Coverage
Every game of the Griffins Invitational will be streamed live on Griffins TV.  The games not involving Westminster will feature just background audio, mainly the PA announcer.  Mike Lageschulte will handle the play-by-play of both Westminster games and will be joined on the broadcast by Lance Barton.

Live Stats will also be available for all of the games of the Invitational.  You can access the Live Stats and Griffins TV at WestminsterGriffins.com.

Game Promotions
Thursday's game will feature Basketball Musical Chairs at halftime of the game.  Saturday night is “Alumni Night” where all Westminster alumni can receive 2-for-1 admission with a Westminster ID or Westminster Alumni card.

Looking Back
Westminster went 0-3 at the Jackson Rotary Classic.  They opened the Classic by dropping a 67-58 decision against No. 2 Union (Tenn.). Westminster played with the lead for much of the first half before a late charge by Union evened the game at 33-33 at halftime.  With the game tied 38-38 early in the second half, Union used a 7-0 run to open up a lead that they would never relinquish.

Westminster rallied back from a double-digit deficit bet fell just short in a 76-72 loss against No. 6 Bethel. Westminster took a 72-70 lead with 2:01 remaining before Bethel scored the final six points of the game for the win.  The Griffins had trailed by 10 for most of the second half before the late run to take the lead.

The Griffins College dropped a 56-41 decision to No. 6 Freed-Hardeman. Westminster was outscored 34-20 in the second half after they were down just 22-21 at halftime.  Westminster took a 23-22 lead on the first possession of the second half before FHU used a 13-2 run over the next six minutes to take control of the game.  The lead would eventually reach 16 with the Griffins never getting closer than nine down the stretch.

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 101 assists this season and rank sixth in the Frontier with an average of 12.6 per outing.  The team has posted an assist-to-turnoverratio of 0.90 which ranks second in the league.

Yazzie and Jackson are both in the Frontier top-10 in assists through the first month.  Yazzie is averaging 4.0 assists per night to rank fourth in the league and 39th nationally.  Jackson ranks sixth in the Frontier at 3.4 assists per game.

Record Performance
Freshman Ellsworth matched a school record by collecting 20 rebounds in the Griffins win over Cal Maritime. 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 81.3% free throw percentage.  They have shot above 70% at the stripe in seven of the eight games and six times have been above 80%.  They rank third in the NAIA in free throw percentage.

Yazzie leads the Frontier by shooting 94.3% at the stripe.  Tat also has her fourth in the NAIA and her 33 makes are most among anyone in the top-20.  Bates is third in the Frontier with her 80% shooting at the stripe.

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 is currently No. 48 in the current Massey Ratings that were released on Sunday.  The Griffins have a rating of 0.406 and sit fourth in the Frontier Conference.  They have played the 39th-ranked schedule and have the 39th-rankd offense and 40th-ranked defense.

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.