Complete Release | PDF | Playoff Central

SALT LAKE CITY – The 16th-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team begins the 2012 Frontier Conference on Tuesday against the University of Great Falls. The top-seeded Griffins will play the No. 8 seed Great Falls in the tournament for the third straight year and are a perfect 3-0 in those contests. The game was moved to Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Behnken Field House to accommodate UGF travel schedule.

Griffin Notebook
The Griffins enter the tournament at 20-7 overall and champions of the Frontier Conference with a 13-1 mark in league games. They swept home games last week over Montana State-Northern and Great Falls. Westminster has won nine consecutive games and 17 of the previous 19 they have played. They completed the regular season at 12-2 at home and winners of 10 straight at home.

Westminster is scoring 67.4 points per game to rank fourth in the Frontier and 42nd in the NAIA.  They shoot 41.5% from the field and 34.8% from beyond the arc.  The Griffins lead the league with 207 threes and an average of 7.67 made per outing.  They also lead the Frontier by shooting 78.3% at the foul line and with a 1.10 assist-to-turnover ratio.

On the defensive end, Westminster holds the opposition to 55.3 points per game and rank second in the league in that category.  Griffin opponents are shooting 38.1% from the field and 31.5% from beyond the arc.  Westminster grabs 36.9 rebounds a night while also averaging 14.3 assists.  They gather eight steals while also averaging two blocks per game.

Four Griffins are averaging double figures in scoring this season.  Nicole Yazzie leads the team at 13.1 points per game which ranks fifth in the league.  Dana Bates is 12th in the Frontier in scoring at 11.2 while Shelby Ellsworth is 16th at 10.4 points per contest.  Cydney Tibbitts averages 11.3 per game, but hasn't played enough games to qualify in the conference rankings.

Yazzie leads team with 53 made threes and is shooting 93% at the foul line to lead the Frontier.  Jenteal Jackson is shooting 42.6% from beyond the arc to rank first in the Frontier and fourth in the nation.  Jackson has a team-best 107 assists and leads the Frontier with a 2.06 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Bates leads the team with 170 rebounds while Ellsworth has grabbed 163 boards.  Bates' average of 6.3 rebounds a night is ninth in the conference.

Game Coverage
Tuesday's game will be broadcast live on Griffins TV with Mike Lageschulte providing the play-by-play and Lance Barton providing color commentary. The broadcast will begin at 5:15 p.m. and feature an interview with Griffins head coach Shelley Jarrard. Following the game, Jarrard and a student-athlete will chat with the guys to recap the game.  Live Stats will also be available for the game with links to both features available at WestminsterGriffins.com.

Frontier Conference Tournament
With Westminster and Great Falls playing on Tuesday, the remainder of the quarterfinals will be played on Wednesday. Lewis-Clark State plays at home against Montana Tech and MSU-Northern is the home team against Montana Western. The fourth game features Carroll playing at Rocky Mountain.

The semi-finals will be played on Saturday, March 3 at the homes of the two highest remaining seeds. The championship game will be played at the highest seed's home on Tuesday, March 6. For complete playoff coverage visit WestminsterGriffins.com/playoffs.

Frontier Dominance
Over the past five seasons, Westminster has been the best team in the Frontier Conference during league play.  The Griffins have compiled a 62-8 (.886) record during league action since the 2007-08 season.  Those 62 wins are six more than the 56 posted by Lewis-Clark State during that same time frame.  Only the Griffins and LCSC have been above .500 in league play during that stretch.

The dominance is even greater over the past four seasons.  Westminster has won four straight regular season conference championships and has gone 52-4 (.929) in league play since the 2008-09 season.  LCSC is again second over the span, winning 43 games in the same time span.

Taking Advantage at the Stripe
Westminster can be found first in the conference with a 78.3% free throw percentage.  They have shot above 70% at the stripe on 22 occasions while also going above 80% in 15 games.  The Griffins are shooting 81.9% at the stripe in conference games and sit third in the NAIA for the season.

Yazzie is the No. 1 free throw shooter in the country at 93% from the stripe. She has streaks of 24 and 34 consecutive makes at the line this year and is currently on a streak of 14 straight makes.  She is on pace to set a new school record for a single season, surpassing the 87.1% that Elisa Leader shot during the 2007-08 campaign.

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 78.3% at the line, making 47 of their 60 clutch attempts this season.

Allie Eastman, Ellsworth and Tia Pappas have yet to miss a freebie in a clutch situation.  Tibbitts has gone 11-of-12 (91.7%) when it matters while Bates is 13-of-16 (81.3%). Yazzie is shooting 78.9% in clutch situations at 15-of-19.  Amy Krommenhoek and Jackson are a combined 3-of-8 with the game in balance.

Make That Three
Westminster currently leads the Frontier Conference with an average of 7.67 made threes per game.  The Griffins are shooting 34.8% from beyond the arc which ranks second in the conference and fourth in the NAIA.  Yazzie makes 1.96 threes per game to rank fourth in the league while Jackson is good for 1.70 triples per contest to rank sixth.

Defensive Excellence
The Griffins are one of the top defensive teams in the country this season.  Westminster opponents average just 55.26 points per game and shoot just 38.1% from the floor.  The Griffins rank 12th in the NAIA in scoring defense and 42nd in field goal defense. Opponents are committing 15.9 turnovers per game which the Griffins turn into 15.4 points per night.

Westminster has held six straight opponents under 60 points and they led the Frontier by allowing just 51.64 points per game during league games. The Griffin shave held seven opponents under 50 points this season and twice limited the opposition to less than 40 points.

Dynamic Duo
Yazzie and Jackson combine to form one of the most productive backcourts in the NAIA. The two combine to average 22.2 points, 7.2 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. They are ranked in the Frontier Conference Top 20 a combined 17 times in the statistical rankings.

Yazzie leads the Griffins at 13.1 points per game while making 53 total threes. Jackson scored 9.1 points per night and leads the league and ranking fourth in the NAIA at 42.6% from beyond the arc. She leads the team with 107 assists while Yazzie has 86 dimes. Jackson is 10th in the NAIA with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.06.

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 16 games played, Tibbitts is averaging 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.  She has recorded four double-doubles and been the team's leading rebounder in 12 games.  She is shooting 45.4% from the field and 35.4% from beyond the arc with the team going 15-1 with her playing.

After coming off the bench in her first two games, Tibbitts transitioned to the starting lineup when conference play began.  As a starter, Tibbitts is scoring 11 points per game while grabbing 7.5 rebounds in 32.9 minutes per night.  She has grabbed 30 offensive rebounds during that time while also recording a team-best 14 blocked shots.

Big Time Bates
Senior Bates is 12th in the Frontier on scoring at 11.22 points per game and is shooting 49.4% from the field.  She has scored in double figures 16 times this season and twice been above 20 points.  The forward from Warden, Wash. also grabs 6.3 rebounds per game to rank ninth in the league while placing seventh in offensive rebounds at 2.48 per contest.  Bates has led the team in scoring on nine occasions this season and has also been the top rebounder nine times. 

Freshman Sensation
Ellsworth is off to a fast start during her freshman campaign.  The forward has made 18 starts this season and is averaging 10.4 points per game while scoring in double figures 14 times.  She is 16th in the Frontier in scoring and is the second-highest scoring freshman in the league.  Ellsworth is averaging six rebounds per game to rank 10th in the Frontier. Since moving to the bench, Ellsworth is scoring 10.7 points per game and shooting 43.8% from the field.

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
Westminster currently sits at No. 15 in the latest edition of the Massey Ratings. They are second among the eight teams from the Frontier Conference with a rating of 0.82.  The Griffins rank eighth defensively and have played the 26th-rated schedule to date.

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.