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SALT LAKE CITY – The ninth-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team remains at home this weekend to play host of the Westminster Fall Classic.  Westminster will play three games during the event, beginning with a 4 p.m. game on Thursday against Cal Maritime.  The Griffins will then play College of Idaho at 6 p.m. on Friday before a Saturday game with La Sierra at 6 p.m.  Every game of the Fall Classic will be played in the Behnken Field House.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster will enter the weekend at 1-1 after splitting two home games to open the year last weekend.  They began the season by suffering a71-61 loss to No. 20 Westmont last Friday.  The Griffins bounced back to defeat Northern New Mexico 78-59 on Saturday.

Westminster is third in the Frontier Conference with an average of 69.5 points per game entering the weekend.  They rank 41st in the NAIA with that average and 50th nationally with 139 total points.  The Griffins are second in the league at the foul line by shooting 74.4% and fourth with a 41.8% field goal percentage.  The team averages 16 assists per outing to place second in the Frontier and 21st nationally.

Griffin opponents are scoring 65 points per game and shooting 44.5% from the floor.  Westminster held to opposition to 28.6% shooting from beyond the arc and collected 33.5 rebounds per game.  They blocked three shots during the first two games and averaged 5.5 steals.  The Griffins have a 1.00 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Classic Coverage
Every game of the Westminster Fall Classic will be carried live on Griffins TV.  All the game not involving Westminster will feature just video, as will the Griffins game on Thursday.  Mike Lageschulte and Lance Barton will be on the Westminster game with C of I on Friday while Dan Clayton joins Barton for Saturday's game against La Sierra.

Live Stats will also be available for every game 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
Thursday night is “Junior High School Night” with all junior high students receiving FREE admission.  Friday's game is “Parent/Daughter Night” with all girls 13 and under receiving FREE admission when attending with their parents.  Saturday night is “Good grades Night” where all students are encouraged to show their report card at the door to receive FREE admission with three or more A's.

Against Cal Maritime
Westminster and Cal Maritime will play for the first time ever on Thursday.

Against College of Idaho
Friday's game against the College of Idaho is the 17th all-tie meeting in the history of the series.  Westminster holds a slight 9-7 lead after winning the previous three matchups.  The first game of the series was played on Jan. 4, 2000 and the two teams have played every season except two since Westminster began women's basketball in 1999.

Against La Sierra
Westminster and La Sierra have played twice prior to Saturday's game.  The Griffins hold a 2-0 advantage in those two meetings, with both being played at la Sierra.  The two teams haven't played each other since 2002 when Westminster claimed a 63-51 win.

Looking Back
Westminster opened the Shelley Jarrard era by suffering a 71-61 loss to No. 20 Westmont.  The visiting Warriors used a 12-0 run in the second half to take control of the game and never looked back.  Nicole Yazzie led the Griffins with 14 points in the game while Jenteal Jackson and Shelby Ellsworth had 13 apiece.

Westminster would collect the first career win for Jarrard on Saturday with a 78-59 win over Northern New Mexico.  The Griffins took a 45-27 lead into the intermission and were never threatened in the second half.  Yazzie again was the top scorer with 23 points.  Ellsworth finished with 15 points and Amy Krommenhoek added 12.  Dana Bates has 11 points and eight rebounds.

200 All-Time Wins
Saturday's win over Northern New Mexico was the 200th win all-time in the history of the Westminster women's basketball program.  The first year of women's basketball was the 1999-2000 season and that team went 4-16 overall.  Since then, the Griffins have had five 20-win seasons and have gone for 83 over the past three and two games.

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 had 32 assists during last week's games and rank second in the Frontier with an average of 16 per outing.  They are also 21st nationally with that average and 33rd in total assists.  They are also second in the league with a 1.00 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Jackson and Krommenhoek are both in the Frontier top-10 in assists through two games.  Jackson is averaging 5.5 assists per night to lead the Frontier and rank 14th in the NAIA.  Krommenhoek is eighth in the league at 3.5 helpers per game with Yazzie ranking 12th with an average of 3.0 assists per game.

Clutch at the Stripe
Westminster can be found second in the conference with a 74.4% free throw percentage.  They Griffins shot 82.5% (14-17) in the opener versus Westmont.  They then went 18-of-26 (69.2%) in the game against Northern New Mexico.  They had a streak of eight straight made freebies over the two games, including making the final six attempts of the game versus Westmont.

Yazzie has started the year by going a perfect 20-of-20 at the stripe.  The 20 consecutive makes is the second longest streak of her career, trailing only the 32 straight she made during a stretch last November.  She is tied with 26 others across the country that have yet to miss a free throw and make the minimum of 2.5 FTM/Game to qualify for the list.  Her 20 makes is the most of any player in the NAIA that has yet to miss.

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 dropped six places to No. 23 in the latest Massey Ratings that were released on Sunday.  Westminster started the year at No. 17.  They now have a rating of 0.600 and rank second among the eight Frontier Conference teams.  They are rated as the 21st-best offense and have played the 21st-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.

Looking Ahead
Westminster will hit the road for the first time of the season next week.  Westminster is off to Jackson, Tenn. for three games against top-ranked opponents.  The Griffins will play No. 2 Union (Tenn.) on Nov. 17 before facing the team tied at No. 6 on consecutive nights.  Friday they will play Bethel (Tenn.) before facing Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) on Saturday.