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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's basketball team returns to the Behnken Field House this week for two Frontier Conference games. The fifth-ranked Griffins host Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Thursday and then welcome Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Saturday. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Game Coverage
Both games this week will be broadcast live on Griffins TV and Comcast 6. Mike Lageschulte (play-by-play) and Lance Barton (analyst) will be calling the game and fans can interact with the guys via Twitter by following @griffins_tv. Live Stats will also be available for both of the games this week. Links for all of the live features can be found in the calendar section at WestminsterGriffins.com.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster enters the week at 19-2 overall this season and winners of 11 straight. They are atop the Frontier Conference with an 8-0 record and are the only unbeaten left in league games. The Griffins are 7-0 in the month of January and are 7-1 at home this season.

The Griffins are now averaging 65.2 points per game and rank second in the Frontier Conference in that category after sitting eighth as play entered 2013. Westminster is scoring 73 points per game in league games and they have scored at least 70 points in four games and twice been above 80. They are shooting 44 percent from the floor to lead the league and rank 10th in the NAIA. Westminster is ninth nationally at 35 percent from beyond the arc and seventh from the foul line at 72.5 percent.

Westminster continues to dominate on the defensive end where they hold the opposition to 47.9 points per game. That ranks second in the country and helps to a 17.3 scoring margin which is 10th in the country. Griffin opponents shoot 34.8 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from beyond the arc. Westminster allows just 30.7 rebounds per game to place third in the country and they are 20th with a 3.29 turnover margin.

Against the Opposition
The Griffins hold a 21-7 lead in the all-time series with Rocky Mountain after a 75-39 win in Billings on Saturday. They have won 15 straight games in the series and seven straight in Salt Lake City. Westminster defeated Rocky 84-52 in last season's meeting in the Behnken Field House.

After a 64-43 win over Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho last month, Westminster now trails to all-time series with the Warriors, 23-10. That win extended a streak of the teams alternating wins in the previous four games. LCSC defeated the Griffins 55-49 in their last trip to the Behnken Field House for last season's Frontier Conference Tournament championship game.

Frontier Dominance
With their 8-0 start to the conference season, Westminster continues its dominance in the league over the past six years. Since the 2007-08 season, the Griffins are 70-8 in league games and only once (2007-08) have they lost more than two games in a year. They are an even better 60-4 (.938) in the past five years and 21-1 (.955) in the past two seasons. During this time, Westminster has won four straight regular season championships after not winning more than eight games in league games prior to the 2007-08 season.

Getting Defensive
The Griffins are having one of the best defensive seasons in school history. They rank in the NAIA top-20 in scoring defense (47.86, 2nd), field goal defense (34.8%, 10th) and rebound defense (30.71, 3rd). Those present totals would establish a new school record in each category. Westminster has held 10 straight opponents to 50 points or less and five of them below 40 points.

Streaking
Westminster is currently riding an 11-game winning streak which is tied for the third-longest streak in school history. They haven't lost since dropping a 73-51 decision at then-No. 3 Vanguard (Calif.) on Dec. 8. The Griffins are averaging 68.7 points per game during the streak while holding their opponents to 42.8 points. The longest winning streak in school history is 17 set during the 2008-09 campaign with a 13-game streak taking place during the 2009-10 season.

Streaking Around the Country
The current 11-game winning streak is the third-longest active streak in the NAIA. No. 3 Oklahoma City has won 15 straight games entering the week and No. 18 Columbia (Mo.) is at 12 consecutive wins at the moment. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) is on a 10-game streak as play begins this week. Westminster is one of nine teams with a .900 winning percentage through Tuesday and they are tied for seventh at .905. Cumberland (Tenn.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), Lubbock Christian (Texas) and Our Lady of Lake (Texas) are all 20-1 to lead the NAIA with a .852 winning percentage.

Just One for Twenty
At 19-2 on the year, Westminster is just one win shy of 20 wins for a sixth straight season. The first 20-win season in school history came during the 2006-07 season when they finished 22-12 and started the stretch of consecutive 20-win seasons. The Griffins set a school record with 28 wins during the 2010-11 season and also established the record with a .800 winning percentage. In the seven years prior to the 2006-07 campaign, Westminster had never won more than 16 games in a year.

Triple Threat
Senior Nicole Yazzie is proving to be one of the best all-around players in the country. The senior currently averages 12.2 points per game and is sixth in the Frontier with 35 made treys. Yazzie is 11th nationally at 5.43 assists per game and sits 19th in the NAIA with a 1.90 assist-to-turnover ratio. She has scored in double figures in 15 games this season and led the team in scoring on six occasions.

Climbing the Charts
Yazzie continues to climb the charts in the Westminster career record book. She currently ranks in the top 10 in 12 statistical categories and is one of just six players to score 1,000 career points. Yazzie currently ranks fifth in school history with 1,533 points and her 255 career threes is most all-time. She is second all-time with 495 assists and third in steals with 189.

Tidbits on Tibbitts
Cydney Tibbitts is the team's leading scorer at 13 points per game. She is eighth in the Frontier in scoring and is shooting 45.7 percent from the field. The senior grabs a team-high 8.14 rebounds per game to rank fourth in the Frontier and her 5.86 defensive rebounds per game lead the conference and is 27th in the NAIA. Tibbitts is 19th in the NAIA in free throw percentage at 80.6 percent and she leads the Griffins with 17 blocked shots. She grabs 14.3 percent of all available rebounds while on the floor and 20 percent on the defensive end.

Wells-come Addition
Kelsi Wells is third on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game while shooting a team-best 56.5 percent from the floor. The junior makes 50.9 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc while also pulling down 4.7 rebounds per game. Wells leads the team at 13.5 points per game in Frontier Conference play and she is shooting 65.7 percent from the field in the seven contests. Wells has scored in double figures in five straight games and 13 times this season while leading the team in scoring in five games.

Tia-rrific
Tia Pappas has been a spark off the Griffin bench this season. The sophomore scores 7.6 points in 23 minutes per game and shoots 44.7 percent from the floor. Pappas is second on the team with 119 rebounds and her 2.48 offensive rebounds per game in fifth in the Frontier. She is second in the league and 28th in the NAIA at 2.48 steals per game and she is 26th nationally with 52 total steals. Pappas pulls down 13.3 percent of available offensive rebounds while she is on the floor and 14.8 percent of all rebounds.

Approaching 1,000
Allie Eastman is averaging 7.8 points per game this season and has scored 921 points in her career. She needs to average 9.9 points per game over the remaining eight games on the schedule to become to seventh player in school history to score 1,000 career points. She has reached double figures in seven games this season and twice been the team's leading scorer in a game. Eastman also ranks in the Westminster career top 10 in field goals made, 3-point field goals made, assists, steals and blocked shots.

Making the Freebies
Westminster is one of the premier free throw shooting teams in the NAIA. The Griffins are shooting 72.5 percent at the stripe to lead the Frontier and rank seventh in the country. They are even better in clutch situation as they make 81.1 percent of their attempts in the final five minutes (and all of overtime) of a game within 10 points. Tibbitts ranks 19th in the country by making 80.6 percent of her attempts and she shoots 92.9 percent in clutch situations.

Massey Ratings
The Griffins slipped one position to fourth in the latest edition of the Massey Ratings. Westminster has a rating of 1.16 and also ranks fourth with a power rating of 28.00.  They are the top-rated defensive team in the ratings and place 24th in the offensive ratings. The computers have the Griffins schedule rated as the seventh-toughest played in the NAIA this season.

Frontier Tournament
The 2013 Frontier Conference Tournament will be played Feb. 26–Mar. 4 at the home site of the highest seed in each game. The top six teams in the final standings will qualify for the tournament with the top two teams receiving a bye into the semi-finals. Westminster is currently the No. 1 seed and would host the lowest remaining seed after the quarterfinals in the Behnken Field House on Mar. 4.

Looking Ahead
Westminster begins a stretch of four straight road games with a trip to Dillon, Mont. to play Montana Western on Feb. 9. The only game of the week for the Griffins will tipoff at 5:30 p.m. from Straugh Gymnasium.