Complete Release | PDF
SALT LAKE CITY – The fourth-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team will complete the regular season this week with two games. Westminster first travels to Carroll (Mont.) for a game at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. They will then return home for a Senior Night contest with Montana Tech at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Game Coverage
Thursday's game will be shown live in HD on the Altitude Sports Network. Peter Young will handle the play-by-play for Altitude, which can be found in Utah on Comcast channel 61, Dish Network channel 410 and DirecTV channel 681. Saturday's game will be carried on Griffins TV and Comcast 6 with Mike Lageschulte (play-by-play) and Lance Barton (analyst). Live Stats will be available for both games with links for Griffins TV and live stats available in the calendar section of WestminsterGriffins.com.
Griffin Notebook
Westminster enters the final week of the season at 24-2 on the season and riding a 16-game winning streak. They are 13-0 in Frontier Conference play and have already clinched a fifth straight championship. The Griffins claimed wins at Great Falls (Mont.) and Montana State-Northern in last week's action.
The Griffins have gone 15-1 in all games played away from home this season and they are 13-1 in road games. Westminster has won all six of its conference road games this year. They have also posted a 9-1 record in home games and have won nine straight in the Behnken Field House. Dating back to last season, the Griffins have won 22 straight Frontier Conference games.
Westminster is scoring 65.85 points per game to lead the Frontier Conference. They are first in the league in field goal percentage (44.1%), free throw percentage (74.6%) and place second in 3-point field goal percentage (34.8%). Westminster makes a league-best 6.65 treys per game and rank first in assists per game at 16.88 and assist-to-turnover ratio, 1.30, which is third in the NAIA.
On the defensive end, Westminster holds the opposition to 46.65 points per game and just 34.1 percent shooting. The Griffins rank second in the country in scoring defense and seventh in field goal defense. They allow just 30.15 rebounds per game to the opposition, second in the country, while also forcing 17.15 turnovers per outing. The Griffins record 9.91 steals per game to lead the Frontier and they rank 16th in the NAIA with a 3.96 turnover margin.
Against the Opposition
Carroll enters Thursday's game with a slim 17-16 lead in the all-time series with the Griffins. Westminster has won the last four meetings, including a 67-36 win in Salt Lake City last month. They have also taken four consecutive games in Helena with the last loss coming during the 2007-08 season.
After taking a 62-48 win over Montana Tech last month in the Butte, Westminster now leads the all-time series 19-8. The Griffins have won four straight games against Tech and 13 of the last 14 meetings.
Frontier Dominance
At 13-0 this season, Westminster has already clinched a fifth straight Frontier Conference title. Over the past two years the Griffins are 26-1 in league games. They have won 22 consecutive Frontier Conference games dating back to last season and sit two wins shy of the second undefeated conference slate in school history. During this stretch of conference titles, Westminster has gone 65-4 in league games and only once have they dropped two games in a 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 (46.65, 2nd), field goal defense (34.1%, 7th) and rebound defense (30.15, 2nd). Those present totals would establish a new school record in each category. Westminster has held 15 straight opponents to 50 points or less and six of them below 40 points. They established a new school record for fewest points allowed by holding Montana Western to 28 in a win on Feb. 9.
Offense Coming Around
When we rolled the calendar into 2013, Westminster was eighth in the Frontier in scoring at 61.29 points per game. In the 12 games played in 2013 the Griffins are scoring 71.2 points per game and lead the league in scoring at 65.85 points per game. They only scored more than 70 points one time in the first 16 games of the year and they have now done that in eight of the last 10 games.
Streaking
Westminster is currently riding a 16-game winning streak which is the second-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 42.4 points. The longest winning streak in school history is 17 set during the 2008-09 season. The current 22-game conference winning streak is the longest in school history.
Streaking Around the Country
The current 16-game winning streak is the second-longest active streak in the NAIA. No. 2 Oklahoma City has won 21 straight games through Tuesday. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) has won 15 straight with Westmont (Calif.) winning 14 straight as play begins this week. Westminster is one of eight teams with a .900 winning percentage through Tuesday and they sit sixth at .923. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) sits at 26-1 to lead the NAIA with a .963 winning percentage.
Six Straight Over 20
With their 83-45 win over Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Jan. 31, Westminster reached the 20-win plateau for a sixth consecutive season. The first 20-win season in school history came during the 2006-07 season when they finished 22-12 and started this 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 leads the team in scoring at 13 points per game and she is fifth in the Frontier with 47 made treys. Yazzie is 11th nationally at 5.35 assists per game and sits 15th in the NAIA with a 1.99 assist-to-turnover ratio. She has scored in double figures in 20 games this season and led the team in scoring on 11 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 1,616 points and her 267 career threes is most all-time. She is second all-time with 520 assists and third in steals with 200.
Tidbits on Tibbitts
Cydney Tibbitts is second on the team in scoring at 11.96 points per game. She is 11th in the Frontier in scoring and is shooting 44.4 percent from the field. The senior grabs a team-high 8.08 rebounds per game to rank fourth in the Frontier and her 5.77 defensive rebounds per game lead the conference and are 29th in the NAIA. Tibbitts is 17th in the NAIA in free throw percentage at 80.5 percent and she leads the Griffins with 21 blocked shots. She grabs 14.4 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 10.77 points per game while shooting a team-best 55.1 percent from the floor. The junior makes 48.5 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc while also pulling down 4.7 rebounds per game. Wells averages 11.5 points per game in Frontier Conference play and she is shooting 59.8 percent from the field in the 13 contests. Wells has scored in double figures 16 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 7.7 points in 22.7 minutes per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the floor. Pappas is second on the team with 141 rebounds and her 2.35 offensive rebounds per game rank seventh in the Frontier. She is second in the league and 41st in the NAIA at 2.31 steals per game and she is 38th nationally with 60 total steals. Pappas pulls down 12.8 percent of available offensive rebounds while she is on the floor and 14.4 percent of all rebounds.
Approaching 1,000
Allie Eastman is averaging 8.3 points per game this season and has scored 975 points in her career. She needs to average 8.3 points per game over the remaining three scheduled games to become to seventh player in school history to score 1,000 career points. She has reached double figures in 10 games this season and has been the team's leading scorer in a game three times. Eastman also ranks in the Westminster career top 10 in field goals made, 3-point field goals made, assists, steals and blocked shots.
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 has clinched the No. 1 seed and a first round bye. They will host the lowest remaining seed after the quarterfinals in the Behnken Field House on Mar. 1. For more information about the tournament, visit WestminsterGriffins.com/playoffs.
Airing on Altitude
Westminster's games at Great Falls (Mont.) (Feb. 15) and Carroll (Feb. 21) will be broadcast live in HD on the Altitude Sports Network. Altitude Sports is available within a 10-State territory of the Rocky Mountain Region including: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Northern New Mexico, Northeast Nevada and Southwest South Dakota. Altitude can be found in Utah on Comcast channel 61, Dish Network channel 410 and DirecTV channel 681.
Looking Ahead
Westminster will open their Frontier Conference Tournament run with a semi-final game in the Behnken Field House on Friday, March 1. The game will begin at 7 p.m. against the lowest remaining seed after the quarterfinal round of games played on Feb. 26.