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SALT LAKE CITY – The 15th-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team will open the 32nd Annual Division I Women's Basketball National Championship presented by Kentuckytourism.com on Wednesday with an opening round game against No. 17 Belhaven (Miss.). The game will begin at 11:45 a.m. MST from the Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky.

Westminster is the No. 4 seed in the first quadrant and made the field of 32 by receiving the No. 6 at-large bid. Belhaven in the quadrant's No. 5 seed and qualified by winning the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament. This will be the first meeting all-time between the two teams.

Griffin Notebook
The Griffins enter the championship at 22-8 overall and regular season champions of the Frontier Conference with a 13-1 mark in league games. They are coming off a 55-49 loss at home to Lewis-Clark State College in the championship game of the Frontier Conference Tournament. That loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Griffins who have now won 17 of their last 19 games played.

Westminster is scoring 66.67 points per game to rank fourth in the Frontier and 45th in the NAIA.  They shoot 41.4% from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc.  The Griffins lead the Frontier with 222 threes and an average of 7.4 made per outing.  They also lead the Frontier by shooting 78.2% at the foul line and with a 1.08 assist-to-turnover ratio.

On the defensive end, Westminster holds the opposition to 55.73 points per game and leads the league in that category.  Griffin opponents are shooting 38.3% from the field and 30.4% from beyond the arc.  Westminster grabs 25.90 rebounds a night while also averaging 14.1 assists.  They gather 8.17steals while averaging 1.93 blocks per game.

Four Griffins are averaging double figures in scoring this season.  Nicole Yazzie leads the team at 13.2 points per game which ranks fifth in the league.  Dana Bates is 12th in the Frontier in scoring at 11.27 while Shelby Ellsworth is 17th at 10.03 points per contest.  Cydney Tibbitts averages 10.5 per game, but hasn't played enough games to qualify in the conference rankings.

Yazzie leads team with 58 made threes and is shooting 92.2% 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 121 assists and leads the Frontier with a 2.05 assist-to-turnover ratio.  Bates leads the team with 192 rebounds while Ellsworth has grabbed 170 boards.  Bates' average of 6.4 rebounds a night is eighth in the conference.

Game Coverage
Wednesday's game will be streamed live by NeuLion and the NAIA. The games can be found at www.naia.org with a $9.95 per day fee or you can purchase a tournament pass for $29.95. Live Stats will also be available at the DakStats Tournament site. Direct links to the Live Stats and Video Streaming can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com.

NAIA National Championship History
This marks the sixth straight trip to the NAIA National Championship for Westminster. They have a 5-5 career record at the event and have only been eliminated during the opening round once. The Griffins have won three straight opening round games and advanced to the quarterfinals of last year's tournament for the first time in school history.

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 78.2% free throw percentage.  They have shot above 70% at the stripe on 25 occasions while also going above 80% in 16 games.  The Griffins shot 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 conference and ranks second in the NAIA at 92.2% from the stripe. She has streaks of 24 and 34 consecutive makes and went 69-of-72 (95.8%) at home this season. 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 80.9% at the line, making 55 of their 68 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 Yazzie is 21-of-25 (84%). Bates is shooting 81.3% in clutch situations at 13-of-16.  Amy Krommenhoek and Jackson are a combined 5-of-10 with the game in balance.

Make That Three
Westminster currently leads the Frontier Conference with an average of 7.4 made threes per game.  The Griffins are shooting 34.5% from beyond the arc which ranks second in the conference and sixth in the NAIA.  Yazzie makes 1.93 threes per game to rank fourth in the league while Jackson is good for 1.63 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 54.73 points per game and shoot just 38.3% from the floor.  The Griffins rank 11th in the NAIA in scoring defense and 44th in field goal defense. Opponents are committing 15.7 turnovers per game which the Griffins turn into 16.0 points per night.

Westminster has held nine straight opponents under 60 points and they led the Frontier by allowing just 51.64 points per game during league games. The Griffins have held nine opponents under 50 points this season, including three of the last five, 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 points, 7.2 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 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 13.2 points per game while making 58 total threes. Jackson scores 8.8 points per night and leads the league and ranks fourth in the NAIA at 42.6% from beyond the arc. She leads the team with 121 assists while Yazzie has 95 dimes. Jackson is 10th in the NAIA with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.05.

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 19 games played, Tibbitts is averaging 10.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.  She has recorded four double-doubles and been the team's leading rebounder in 13 games.  She is shooting 45.2% from the field and 34.6% from beyond the arc with the team going 17-2 with her playing.

Big Time Bates
Senior Bates is 12th in the Frontier on scoring at 11.3 points per game and is shooting 49.5% from the field.  She has scored in double figures 19 times this season and twice been above 20 points.  The forward from Warden, Wash. also grabs 6.4 rebounds per game to rank eighth in the league while placing seventh in offensive rebounds at 2.37 per contest.  Bates has led the team in scoring on 10 occasions this season and has also been the top rebounder 11 times with two double-doubles.

Freshman Sensation
Ellsworth is having a stellar freshman campaign.  The forward has made 18 starts this season and is averaging 10 points per game while scoring in double figures 15 times.  She is 17th in the Frontier in scoring and is the second-highest scoring and rebounding freshman in the league.  Ellsworth is averaging 5.67 rebounds per game to rank 11th in the Frontier overall.

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.