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SALT LAKE CITY – The fifth-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team returns to the road for two games over Thanksgiving Weekend. Westminster will open the trip on Friday against Eastern Oregon at 6 p.m. They then face College of Idaho at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Game Coverage
Saturday's game will be feature live video and have live stats available. Links for both of these features can be found on the calendar section of WestminsterGriffins.com.
Griffin Notebook
Westminster will take a 4-1 overall record with them to the road this weekend. The Griffins have won four straight games and are 2-0 on the road after a pair of road wins last week. Westminster defeated Southern-New Orleans (La.), 57-56, last Thursday and then beat No. 11 Xavier (La.), 62-50, on Saturday.
Through five games, Westminster is averaging 59.2 points per game while shooting 38.1 percent from the floor. The Griffins average six made threes per contest and rank 31st in the NAIA in the category. They shoot 30.9 percent from beyond the arc and 73.3 percent at the foul line. They have recorded 74 assists and are second in the Frontier at 14.8 assists per game.
The defense has been stingy this season, allowing just 56 points per game and holding the opposition to 56 points or less in four of the five games. Griffin opponents shoot 40.2 percent from the field and just 28.4 percent from beyond the arc. Westminster is forcing 14.2 turnovers per game and out-rebounding the opposition by nearly six rebounds per contest.
Against the Opposition
Westminster trails the overall series with Eastern Oregon, 1-5. EOU has won four straight in the series including a 68-64 win in the last meeting on Nov. 25, 2006. The lone Griffin win was a 61-46 decision on Dec. 30, 2002.
The Griffins lead the all-time series against College of Idaho, 10-7. Westminster won the first meeting this season, 60-56, on Nov. 10 in the Behnken Field House. They have also won four of the last five meetings with the Yotes.
Yazzie Starts Fast
Nicole Yazzie is averaging 15.2 points per game this season and leads the team with 25 assists. The Frontier Conference Preseason Player of the year scored a career-high 28 points in the win over No.12 Biola and has reached double figures in all scoring in four of the five contests. She picked up 15 points and 13 assists during last week's trip to new Orleans.
Climbing the Charts
Two weeks into her senior season, Yazzie ranks in the Westminster career top 10 in 12 statistical categories. She has scored 1,353 points in her career to rank fifth in school history. Her 232 made threes rank second at Westminster and are just six shy of tying Elisa Leader for the career record. Yazzie is the career leader with 621 attempted threes and ranks second all-time in assists with 406.
Twenty for Tibbitts
Cydney Tibbitts is coming off an excellent weekend in “The Big Easy” where she had back-to-back 20-point performances. The senior forward was named Frontier Conference Player of the Week after averaging 21.5 points, seven rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the two games. She currently leads the team in scoring at 15.4 points per game and rebounds with 41. Tibbitts has scored in double figures in all five games this season.
Welcome Wells
Kelsi Wells is averaging 10.8 points per game to give the team three players that average in double figures. Wells is shooting 60.7 percent from the field with 34 rebounds, nine assists and five steals. She scored a career high 17 points against College of Idaho on Nov. 10 and has twice led the team in rebounds this season, including 11 in a double-double versus The Master's in her first game as a Griffin.
Clutch at the Stripe
The Griffins have been solid at the foul line in clutch situations this season. Westminster is shooting 83.9 percent at the stripe with the game in the balance this year. Wells (4-of-4) and
Brooke Blonquist (2-of-2) made all of their clutch attempts with Tibbitts going 9-of-10 and
Brooke Larsen making 5-of-6).
In the Polls
Westminster received a No. 5 ranking in the 2012-13 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll. The No. 5 ranking is the highest for a Westminster team in school history. The Griffins received a No. 8 national ranking on three occasions during the 2010-11 season to establish a school-best. The previous high for a preseason ranking was the No. 9 that the team received prior to the start of last season.
Checking the Massey Computer
The Griffins are at No. 17 in this week's edition of the Massey Ratings. They have a rating of 0.75 and rank eighth defensively according to the computers. Westminster has a power ranking of No. 16 and has played the 18th-toughest schedule.
Preseason Favorites
Westminster was picked to win the Frontier Conference this season according to a poll of the league's coaches. Westminster received 64 points and eight first-place votes in the poll to take the top spot. The Griffins are the four-time defending regular season champions. Defending conference tournament champion Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) was picked to finish second in the league with 52 points. Carroll (Mont.) received one first-place vote and finished third in the poll with Montana Western placing fourth
Looking Ahead
Next week the Griffins return to the Behnken Field House to open Frontier Conference play against Montana Western. The lone game of the week is slated for Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. and is the last chance to see the team at home until Jan. 10.
