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SALT LAKE CITY – The 24th-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team will play at home for the first time in over a month when they face Carroll College on Thursday in the Frontier Conference home opener.  Westminster will then play Rocky Mountain College on Saturday to complete the two-game home stand.  Both games are slated for a 5:30 p.m. tip in the Behnken Field House.

Griffin Notebook
The Griffins are now 9-6 overall this season and have won four straight and six of their last seven.  They opened Frontier Conference play by going 2-0 on the road last weekend, picking up wins over Montana Tech and Montana Western.  Westminster is 5-2 at home this season and carries a three-game home winning streak into this week's action.

Westminster is averaging 69.7 points per game this season and rank fourth in the Frontier in that category.  They are making 34.6% of their attempts from beyond the arc to rank third in the league and 14th in the NAIA.  The Griffins are third in the nation in free throw percentage at 76.2% while also shooting 41.7% from the field.

As a team, Westminster grabs 38.1 rebounds per game and has a 4.27 rebounding margin per contest.  They grab 26.3 rebounds per night on the defensive end to rank 47th nationally.  The Griffins are 38th in the NAIA in assists at 13.9 per game while leading the Frontier and placing eighth in the country with a 1.02 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Defensively, Westminster holds the opposition to 59.1 points per game and they rank 25th in the NAIA in that category.  Westminster opponents are shooting 37.5% from the field and just 33% from beyond the arc.  The Griffins force 14.7 turnovers per game while collecting 7.1 steals per night.  They also record 1.93 blocks per game.

Five Griffins are averaging double figures in points per contest.  Cydney Tibbitts has played just four games, but leads the team at 13.8 points per game.  Nicole Yazzie is scoring 12.7 points per outings with Dana Bates putting up 12.6 per evening.  Shelby Ellsworth scores 11.1 points while Jenteal Jackson is averaging 10.1.

Tibbitts is grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game in her four games with Ellsworth collecting 7.3 this season.  Jackson has recorded a team-best 52 assists with Yazzie adding 51.  Ellsworth leads the team with 22 steals and five blocked shots. 

Game Coverage
Both games this weekend will be carried live on Griffins TV.  The pregame coverage begins at 5:20 p.m. with Mike Lageschulte handling the play-by-play and Lance Barton providing the color commentary.  Head coach Shelley Jarrard stops by to chat with the guys during the postgame show.  Live Stats will also be available for the two games.  Links for Griffins TV and the Live Stats are available at WestminsterGriffins.com.

Promotions
Thursday night is a “Purple Out” as fans are encouraged to wear purple.  Fans wearing purple Griffin apparel will receive $1 off the admission price.  It is also Youth Basketball Night with kids receiving FREE admission by wearing their team jersey to the game. Saturday is Camper Reunion Night where all Westminster summer campers receive FREE admission by wearing you summer camp T-shirt to the game.  Stick around after the game for an autograph session featuring both Westminster basketball teams.

Frontier Dominance
Over the past four-plus seasons, Westminster has been the best team in the Frontier Conference during league play.  The Griffins have compiled a 51-7 (.879) record during league action since the 2007-08 season.  Those 51 wins are five more than the 46 posted by Lewis-Clark State during that same time frame.  Only the Griffins and LCSC have been above .500 in league play over the past four years.

The dominance is even greater over the past three-plus seasons.  Westminster has won three straight regular season conference championships and has gone 41-3 (.929) in league play since the 2008-09 season.  LCSC is again second over the span, winning 33 games in the same time span.

Chasing 20
Westminster enters the weekend in need of 11 wins 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.

Taking Advantage at the Stripe
Westminster can be found first in the conference with a 76.2% free throw percentage.  They have shot above 70% at the stripe on 11 occasions while also going above 80% in nine games.  Over the past three games, Westminster is shooting 83.6% (51-61) from the charity stipe to climb to third in the NAIA for the season.

Nicole Yazzie leads the NAIA with her 93.8% free throw percentage.  She has been to the line in 14 of the 15 games played this season and has three games where she went 10-for-10 from the stripe.  Yazzie began the year making her first 24 free throw attempts and had a string of 34 consecutive makes snapped in the last game at Montana Western.

Just as Good When They Need It
The Griffins also shoot a high percentage at the foul line in clutch situations. A clutch situation is defined as any free throw with less than 5:00 remaining in the game (plus all of overtime) and a positive or negative differential of 10 points or less.  During that situation, Westminster is shooting 76.7% at the line, making 23 of their 30 attempts this season.

Tibbitts and Allie Eastman are 2-for-2 in clutch situations while Tia Pappas made her only clutch attempt.  Bates is shooting 83.3% (10-12) late in close games and Yazzie has gone 8-for-11 (72.7%).

Taking Advantage from Deep
Westminster currently leads the Frontier Conference with an average of 7.87 made threes per game.  The Griffins are shooting 34.6% from beyond the arc which ranks third in the conference and 14th in the NAIA.  Yazzie and Jackson average a team-best 1.87 makes from deep per game while Eastman connects on 1.47 threes per outing.

By shooting the ball from deep, Westminster has a 54.2% true shooting percentage.  They also have a 48.9% effective field goal percentage this season, up from the 41.7% they shoot from the field.  Both of those percentage take free throws and 3-point field goal into account.

Tracking Tibbitts
After missing the first 11 games of the season, junior Tibbitts has made an impact since stepping on the court for the Griffins.  In four games, Tibbitts is averaging 13.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.  She has recorded three double-doubles and been the team-'s leading rebounder in all four games.  She is shooting 51.3% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. 

After coming off the bench in her first two games, Tibbitts transitioned to the starting lineup last weekend.  She posted a 16 points and 10 rebound performance against Montana Tech in her first career start.  That was followed by a 13 points and 10 board night against Montana Western the next night.

Dynamic Backcourt
Westminster features one of the top 1-2 backcourt punches in the NAIA.  The combination of Yazzie and Jackson combine to average 22.8 points per game while also handing out 6.9 assists per outing.  Yazzie is 11th in the Frontier in scoring while Jackson ranks 21st.  Jackson is sixth in the Frontier with 52 assists and Yazzie ranks seventh with 51.  They are tied with each other for fifth with 28 made 3-pointers.

Jackson is shooting 40.6% from beyond the arc and is third in the conference and 21st nationally in that category.  Her 1.63 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the conference and 41sty in the NAIA.  Jackson also grabs 3.4 defensive rebounds per game which is 17th in the conference.

Bates Playing Big Time
Senior Bates is 12th in the Frontier on scoring at 12.6 points per game and is shooting 51.4% from the field.  She has scored in double figures 11 times this season and twice been above 20 points.  The forward from Warden, Wash. also grabs 6.5 rebounds per game to rank 10th in the league while placing ninth in offensive rebounds at 2.8 per contest.  Bates has led the team in scoring on six occasions this season, including both games last weekend.  She has been the team's top rebounder in five games and twice gone for at least 10 boards in a game.

Freshman Sensation
Ellsworth is off to a fast start during her freshman campaign.  The forward has started all 15 games this season and is averaging 11.1 points per game while scoring in double figures nine times.  She is 17th in the Frontier in scoring and is the second-highest scoring freshman in the league.  Ellsworth is averaging a team-best 7.3 rebounds per game to rank eighth in the Frontier.

She matched a school-record with 20 rebounds in a win over Cal Maritime on Nov. 10.  During that game, Ellsworth had 14 offensive rebounds while also scoring a career-high 23 points.  She has four games with double-digit rebounds and three double-doubles so far this season.

Massey Ratings
After a 2-0 road trip to open league play, Westminster moved up 12 positions to No. 19 in the latest edition of the Massey Ratings.  The Griffins have a rating of 0.63 and rank second among the eight teams in the Frontier Conference.  The ratings list Westminster as having played the No. 13-rated schedule this season while ranking No. 18 in defense.  They are favored to win in 11 of the 12 games they have remaining on the 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.