Box Score SALT LAKE CITY – The 18th-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team took one step closer to a fourth straight Frontier Conference championship with a 78-56 win over No. 8 Lewis-Clark State on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.

By winning the NAIA Game of the Week, Westminster (18-7 overall) lowered the team's magic number to claim the regular season title to just one as they improved to 11-1 in conference action.  They have already clinched a tie for the title and can win it outright by winning either of the final two games they play next week.

The Griffins put four starters in double figures in the game, led by 18 points from Dana Bates.  She shot 7-of-10 from the field while collecting seven rebounds, one assist and one steal.  Nicole Yazzie added 16 points and five steals in the contest.  Cydney Tibbitts and Jenteal Jackson scored 13 and 12 respectively.

It was LCSC (23-4, 9-3) that got off to the quick start on Saturday.  The visitors raced out to an early 12-4 advantage less than five minutes into the game.  A 7-0 run by the Griffins a few minutes later turned a seven-point deficit into a one-point advantage with 2:52 remaining in the opening half.  After Tia Pappas made a free throw with 1:38 remaining in the half, Westminster took the lead and would not trail again.

Pappas scored six big points for the Griffins in the opening half.  She made both of her field goal attempts in the half, including one from beyond the arc.  Pappas finished the game with nine points, five rebounds and played solid defense in her career-high 20 minutes on the floor.

After taking a 29-27 lead into the intermission, Westminster put the game away early in the second half.  With the score even at 31-31 with 16:30 remaining, the Griffins scored 11 consecutive points aided by triples from Brooke Larsen, Yazzie and Jackson.  A few minutes later it was a 10-0 run that ballooned the lead to 22 with 6:54 to play.  LCSC wouldn't get within 20 the rest of the way.

Westminster shot 46.3% from the floor while also making 10-of-26 (35.8%) from beyond the arc. The nation's No. 3 shooting free throw team was 18-of-21 at the stripe to hit 85.7%.  The Griffins controlled the glass to the tune of a 37-28 advantage while turning 12 offensive boards into 11 second chance points.

Defensively, Westminster limited the Frontier's highest scoring team to just 56 points, which are 15 below their average.  The Warriors shot just 38.8% from the floor and went 8-for-21 after halftime.  Westminster forced 18 turnovers and scored 19 points from the opportunities.

The Griffins will look to clinch the outright title on Thursday when they welcome Montana State-Northern to the Behnken Field House.  That game will tipoff at 5:30 p.m. and also be available on Griffins TV.