SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's lacrosse team begins the 2012 Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates National Championships on Thursday against Oakland (Mich.) University. The game begins at 12:30 p.m. and will be played in Colorado Springs.

Westminster is the tournament's No. 4 seed after posting a 16-5 record during the season and winning the Rocky Mountain Women's Lacrosse League championship. This is the second straight year that the Griffins have qualified for the National Championships. Last year, Westminster finished fourth after winning their quarterfinal game.

Oakland is the No. 5 seed in the eight team field.  They finished the regular season with a 13-5 overall record and went 5-0 in the WCLL to earn the invite to Colorado Springs. They head into the national tournament riding an eight-game winning streak.

Westminster and Oakland met earlier this season when the Griffins traveled to North Carolina for a tournament. Westminster won that earlier meeting, 11-9, in overtime. Chelsea Farrell led the Griffins with five goals in the game while also posting two assists.

Thursday's winner will face the winner of the game between No. 1 seed Towson and No. 8 seed Stanford. The semi-finals are on Friday with the championship game being played on Saturday. Every team is guaranteed three games at the tournament, but are eliminated for the title race with a loss.