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SALT LAKE CITY – The eighth-ranked Westminster women's basketball team begins the 2011 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship with a first round game against Rogers State (Okla.) on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m. Westminster is the No. 2 seed in the first bracket while Rogers State is the No. 7 seed.

Westminster qualified for the tournament as the No. 3 at-large after winning the Frontier Conference regular season title. They enter the week at 26-6 overall and coming off a 64-63 loss to Carroll in the semi-finals of the Frontier Conference Tournament. The Griffins have currently won eight consecutive road or neutral site games.

The Griffins average 75.6 points per game and shoot 44.9% from the field. The team makes 8.15 threes per outing and shoots 35.5% from beyond the arc. On the defensive end, Westminster allows the opposition 65.7 points per game and they record 9.31 steals per game. Griffin opponents shoot 39.3% from the floor and just 33% from beyond the arc.

Michelle Pace leads four Griffins in double figures at 13.6 points per game. Nicole Yazzie averages 12.1 points per night with Allie Eastman at 11.2 and Dani Evans scoring 10.6. Pace collects a team-best 5.4 rebounds per night with Yazzie recording 3.8 assists and 1.75 steals.

About the Hillcats
Rogers State qualified for its first NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship with a 23-9 overall record and as the tournament No.12 at-large team. They made a run to the championship game of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament after entering as the No. 4 seed. They have won six of their last seven games and 11 of the previous 13. Cortney Crockett leads the team in points, assists, steals, and blocks. She averages 13.5 points per game and is 44th nationally with a 1.526 assist-to-turnover ratio. Angie Craner scores 13.2 points per game and Candice Stewart averages 10.9 points with a team-leading 7.97 rebounds.

Live Video
If you can't make it to the National Championships, watch all the action live online through NeuLion. For a subscription fee, you can see all the exciting action by going to www.WatchNAIA.com.

Live Stats
Every game of the 2011 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship will feature live stats. The live feed will go live five minutes prior to tipoff and can be accessed at www.dakstats.com/naia.

NAIA National Championships History
This is a fifth straight trip to the NAIA National Championships for the Griffins. Westminster has a career record of 3-4 at the tournament and is 3-1 in the first round. The Griffins have won two straight first round games, including a 67-55 win over Lambuth in last season's tournament. No Westminster team has ever advanced past the second round.

All-Conference Performers
Westminster had Dani Evans, Michelle Pace, and Nicole Yazzie each named First Team All-Frontier Conference along with JD Gustin being named the Coach of the Year. Westminster and Lewis-Clark State each had three of the 12 first team members. This is the first all-conference honor for Evans and Pace while Yazzie is honored for a second straight season. This is also the third straight coach of the year award for Gustin.

Record Setting Senior
Senior Dani Evans is finishing her career in style. The 5-9 guard from Morgan, Utah became the fifth player in school history to score 1,000 career points when she scored 18 points in the game at Great Falls on February 26. She will enter the tournament with 1,033 career points in 131 career games played. Evans has appeared in and won more games than any player in school history. She is also the first Griffin to play in four NAIA National Championships.

Open for Three
The Griffins are once again among the top 3-point shooting team in the nation. The team averages 8.2 makes from beyond the arc per game to rank first in the Frontier and sixth in the NAIA. Westminster also shoots 35.5% from long range to lead the conference and rank 11th nationally. Dani Evans makes a conference-best 41.2% of her attempts from beyond the arc while making 1.69 per game. Nicole Yazzie averages 2.25 treys per night to lead the league and rank 21st nationally. Yazzie shoots 36.4% from beyond the arc to rank fourth in the Frontier and 48th in the NAIA.

From the Charity Stripe
Westminster is shooting 76.2% from the foul line this season to rank second in the Frontier Conference. The team is fourth in the NAIA with that percentage. They have shot above 70% at the stripe 24 times this season and 12 times have gone above 80%. Westminster went 225-of-290 (77.6%) at the line in during conference games. Jenteal Jackson is shooting 81.6% at the stripe which ranks 22nd nationally and third in the conference.

Home Cooking
Over the past three seasons, Westminster has gone 39-8 at home including a 19-2 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 25 of the last 29 games played in the Behnken Field House and this is the first time since 2008 they have lost two conference home games.

NAIA Coaches' Poll
With a No. 8 ranking in the final NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on March 9, Westminster has now been ranked inside the top 25 for 22 consecutive polls. The No. 8 ranking matches the highest the Griffins have been this season and all-time. They have also been ranked in the top 25 in 47 of the last 48 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 carries a No. 15 ranking in the Massey Ratings that were released on March 8. The Griffins have a rating of 0.826 along with playing the nation's 14th-ranked schedule. The Frontier Conference is rated as the No. 2 conference with fellow Frontier team Lewis-Clark State rated No. 6. Rogers State is rated 21st overall and have a power rating of 16 compared to the 18 of Westminster.

Looking Ahead
The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to a second round match-up between the winner of the No. 3 seed Biola and No. 6 seed William Woods. That second round game would be played at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.