Complete Release | PDF

SALT LAKE CITY – The fourth-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team will shake off the holiday rust with a pair of games this weekend at the 2013 Jersey Mike's Holiday Classic hosted by The Master's College. Westminster begins the classic on Friday with an 8 p.m. MST contest against Hope International (Calif.). They will then close out the trip on Saturday against 12th-ranked The Master's (Calif.) at 8 p.m. MST.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both games of the weekend will be streamed live on the web and have live stats available. Fans can find links for all of the live features by visiting www.WestminsterGriffins.com/coverage.aspx.

GRIFFIN NOTES
The Griffins will return to the hardwood at 6-1 overall this season and 1-0 in Frontier Conference play. They have won two straight games, including a 76-63 win at College of Idaho on Dec. 14. Westminster is 3-1 in road games with Friday's game marking the first neutral site game of the season. They have split two games against ranked opponents and 2-1 versus teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference, which is the home of both teams on this week's agenda.

Westminster is scoring 69.3 points per game while ranking fifth in the NAIA by shooting 46.5 percent from the floor. They lead the nation in 3-point field goal percentage by making 44.8 percent of their attempts from deep. The Griffins rank fourth in the country with an average of 9.29 treys per game and they place 13th by recording 17 assists per night. The team has a 1.54 assist-to-turnover ratio which in currently second-best in the NAIA.

On the defensive end Westminster is allowing 57.6 points per game and they rank ninth in the nation in that department. Griffin opponents shoot 39.6 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from beyond the arc. Westminster limits the opposition to 31.1 rebounds per game to rank sixth nationally. They are forcing 14.3 turnovers per game with an average of 7.14 steals per contest.

Four Griffins are currently averaging double figures in scoring entering the weekend with Shelby Ellsworth leading the way at 12.4 points per game. Alli Blake is adding 11.7 points per outing with Amy Krommenhoek scoring 10.6 per game. Alli Winters is up to 10 points per game. Tia Pappas leads the team with 41 rebounds and 12 steals while Blake is tops with 32 assists.

NATIONAL RANKING
Westminster received 224 points and moved up to No. 4 in the first regular season coaches' poll of the season that was announced on Dec. 10. The Griffins have now been ranked in the top 25 for 25 consecutive polls dating back to Dec. 12, 2011. They have also spent the last 14 polls inside the top five which is the longest active streak in the country.

KEEP AWAY AND SHARING THE ROCK
Westminster is second in the NAIA with a 1.54 assist-to-turnover ratio through the first seven games of the season. As a team, the Griffins are recording 17 assists per night while only committing 11 turnovers. They have totaled more assists than turnovers in each of the past six games with at least 15 assists in six of the seven games.

BOMBS AWAY
Westminster enters the Jersey Mike's Holiday Classic as the top 3-point shooting team in the country by making 44.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins make 9.29 threes per game to place fourth in the country and they have made at least eight treys in every game this season. They have shot above 40 percent from long range six times and twice been above 50 percent.

Alli Winters is the top 3-point shooter in the NAIA as the junior makes 64.5 percent of her long range attempts. She is 12th in the country by making 2.86 triples per outing and she is 10-of-13 (76.9%) from beyond the arc in the last two games while making multiple triples in five outings. Amy Krommenhoek is eighth in the country by shooting 51.4 percent from deep and 20th by making 2.57 per game. Kelsi Wells shoots 46.7 percent from deep to place 21st in the national rankings.

WELCOME BACK ELLSWORTH
Sophomore Shelby Ellsworth returns after sitting out last season with a knee injury. Ellsworth posted the first 20-20 game in school history when she had 23 points and 20 rebounds in a game versus Cal Maritime in 2010. This season, Ellsworth leads the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game while scoring in double figures on six occasions. She ranks 14th in the Frontier Conference in scoring average while also grabbing 5.4 rebounds and 2.43 assists per contest.

THE BLAKE SHOW
Senior Alli Blake has been doing a little bit of everything for the Griffins this season. She is currently scoring 11.7 points per game while shooting 50.7 percent from the field. Blake leads the squad with 32 assists and ranks 20th in the NAIA by posting 4.57 assist per game. She has also collected 26 rebounds (13 offensive) with seven steals and two blocked shots. Blake has scored in double figures five times with at least four assists in five games.

BENCH PRODUCTION FROM KROMMENHOEK
Amy Krommenhoek has come off the bench in all seven games this season and she is third on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per night. She scored a career high 20 points in the loss at Vanguard (Calif.) where she went 6-of-9 from the floor and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. She has scored in double figures four times with multiple threes in all but one game.

A WINTERS WONDERLAND
Alli Winters has come on strong over the past few games for the Griffins. The long range specialist is averaging 17 points per game over the past two contests and has raised her scoring average nearly three points to 10 points per game. The junior has scored in double figures in four games and she had a career-high 20 points in the win at Montana Western on Dec. 7. Winters is shooting 60.5 percent from the floor to go with her 64.5 percent from beyond the arc. She has also added 20 assists, 13 rebounds and two steals.

WELLS A SCORING THREAT
Kelsi Wells is scoring 9.7 points per game and has been the team's leading scorer two times. The senior was name Preseason All-Frontier Conference after scoring 10.3 points per game in league games last season. Wells had back-to-back 17-point performances against College of Idaho and Biola (Calif.) last month for her only two double-digit scoring games of the season. She is third on the team with 33 rebounds, including a team-best 26 on the defensive end of the floor.

FOLLOWING THE GRIFFINS
To keep up with all of the latest news and information about the Westminster women's basketball team, fans are encouraged to "Like" the Griffins on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. And as always, make sure to visit WestminsterGriffins.com for all things Griffins during the 2013 season.

LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster will move into Frontier Conference play for the remainder of the regular season once the calendar turns to 2014. That starts with a game at No. 16 Carroll (Mont.) on Jan. 2 before a home game against Montana Tech on Jan. 4.