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JACKSON, Tenn. – The eighth-ranked Westminster women's basketball team looks to make it's first-ever trip to the quarterfinals of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship when they face William Woods on Friday, March 18.

Westminster is the No. 2 seed in the top bracket and they advanced to the second round with a 60-56 win over Rogers State on Wednesday. William Woods is the bracket's No. 6 seed and defeated third-seeded Biola 77-69 late Wednesday night. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Griffins average 75.1 points per game and shoot 44.8% from the field. The team makes 8.09 threes per outing and shoots 35.4% from beyond the arc. On the defensive end, Westminster allows the opposition 65.42 points per game and they record 9.09 steals per game. Griffin opponents shoot 39% from the floor and just 32.4% 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 5.5 rebounds per night with Yazzie recording 3.8 assists and 1.73 steals.

About the Owls
William Woods is ranked 21st in the final coaches' poll after posting a 29-4 regular season. They finished second in the American Midwest Conference with a 14-2 record and qualified for its fourth tournament appearance as the eighth at-large team. Wednesday win over Biola was the first NAIA National Championships victory for the Owls. They rank sixth nationally in allowing just 56.5 points per game. Rachel Baker leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. She scores 16 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

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 4-4 at the tournament and is 4-1 in the first round. The Griffins have won three straight first round games. Westminster has never won a second round game in the tournament.

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 has now scored 1,043 career points in 132 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 8.1 makes from beyond the arc per game to rank first in the Frontier and sixth in the NAIA. Westminster also shoots 35.4% from long range to lead the conference and rank 13th nationally. Dani Evans is second in the Frontier by making 40.9% of her attempts from beyond the arc while making 1.64 per game. Nicole Yazzie averages 2.21 treys per night to lead the league and rank 25st nationally. Yazzie shoots 35.8% from beyond the arc to rank third in the Frontier.

From the Charity Stripe
Westminster is shooting 75.9% 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 82.2% at the stripe which ranks 17th nationally and second in the conference.

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. William Woods is rated 24th overall and have a power rating of 27 compared to the 18 of Westminster.

Looking Ahead
Friday's winner will face the Union/Olivet Nazarene winner on Saturday at 5 p.m. Union is the top bracket's No. 1 seed while Olivet Nazarene is the No. 4 seed.