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SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's basketball team begins a four-game road swing with a trip to Dillon, Mont. to face Montana Western on Saturday night. The only game of the week for the fifth-ranked Griffins will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Straugh Gymnasium.

Game Coverage
Saturday's game will be streamed live on the web through the Montana Western Livestream page. Wally Feldt handles the play-by-play for the Bulldogs. UMW will also have live stats available for the contest. Links for both of these live features can be found in the calendar section of WestminsterGriffins.com.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster heads to Dillon at 21-2 overall this season and riding a 13-game winning streak. They are 10-0 in the Frontier Conference and hold a one-game lead over Carroll (Mont.) in the race for home court advantage throughout the conference tournament.

The Griffins have gone 12-1 in all games played away from home this season and they are 10-1 in road games. Westminster has won all three of its conference road games this year. They are 11-1 on Saturday's this season and 18-0 when they hold the lead at halftime. The Griffins have won 19 straight Frontier Conference games dating back to last season.

Westminster averages 66.39 points per game to lead the conference. They also lead the league in free throw percentage (74.4%), field goal percentage (44.2%), 3-pointers made per game (6.78), assists (17.26) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.28). The Griffins shoot 34.6 percent from beyond the arc to rank second in the Frontier. They rank in the NAIA top-10 in five offensive categories, including free throw percentage (5th), field goal percentage (9th), assists per game (6th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd).

On the defensive end, Westminster holds the opposition to 47.39 points per game and just 34.3 percent shooting. The Griffins rank second in the country in scoring defense and seventh in field goal defense. They allow just 30.44 rebounds per game to the opposition, second in the country, while also forcing 17.5 turnovers per outing. The Griffins record 10.3 steals per game to lead the Frontier and they rank 18th in the NAIA with a 3.78 turnover margin.

Against the Opposition
Montana Western leads the all-time series with the Griffins 15-13. However, Westminster has won 10 straight in the series and they claimed a 73-35 win over the Bulldogs on Dec. 1. The Griffins have won four straight in Dillon after dropping the first nine games they played there.

Frontier Dominance
With their 10-0 record in conference this season, Westminster continues its dominance in the league over the past six years. Since the 2007-08 season, the Griffins are 72-8 in league games and only once (2007-08) have they lost more than two games in a year. They are an even better 62-4 (.939) in the past five years and 23-1 (.958) 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 (47.39, 2nd), field goal defense (34.3%, 7th) and rebound defense (30.44, 2nd). Those present totals would establish a new school record in each category. Westminster has held 12 straight opponents to 50 points or less and five of them below 40 points.

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 nine games played in 2013 the Griffins are scoring 74.3 points per game and now lead the league in scoring at 66.39 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 six of the last seven games.

Streaking
Westminster is currently riding a 13-game winning streak which is tied for 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 70.3 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 13-game winning streak is the third-longest active streak in the NAIA. No. 1 Oklahoma City has won 18 straight games entering the week and No. 17 Columbia (Mo.) is at 14 consecutive wins. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) is on an 11-game streak as play begins this week. Westminster is one of 10 teams with a .900 winning percentage through Tuesday and they are tied for fourth at .913. Cumberland (Tenn.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) and Our Lady of Lake (Texas) are all 22-1 to lead the NAIA with a .957 winning percentage.

Six Straight Over 20
With their 83-45 win over Rocky Mountain (Mont.) last Thursday, 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 12.74 points per game and she is fifth in the Frontier with 40 made treys. Yazzie is 11th nationally at 5.35 assists per game and sits 17th in the NAIA with a 1.95 assist-to-turnover ratio. She has scored in double figures in 17 games this season and led the team in scoring on eight 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 1,570 points and her 260 career threes is most all-time. She is second all-time with 504 assists and third in steals with 191.

Tidbits on Tibbitts
Cydney Tibbitts is second on the team in scoring at 12.61 points per game. She is 11th in the Frontier in scoring and is shooting 45.1 percent from the field. The senior grabs a team-high 8.22 rebounds per game to rank third in the Frontier and her 5.74 defensive rebounds per game lead the conference and are 28th in the NAIA. Tibbitts is 16th in the NAIA in free throw percentage at 82.2 percent and she leads the Griffins with 18 blocked shots. She grabs 14.6 percent of all available rebounds while on the floor and 19.7 percent on the defensive end.

Wells-come Addition
Kelsi Wells is third on the team in scoring at 10.96 points per game while shooting a team-best 55.4 percent from the floor. The junior makes 48.3 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc while also pulling down 4.6 rebounds per game. Wells averages 12.2 points per game in Frontier Conference play and she is shooting 61.7 percent from the field in the 10 contests. Wells has scored in double figures 14 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 eight points in 22.9 minutes per game and shoots 43.7 percent from the floor. Pappas is second on the team with 129 rebounds and her 2.44 offensive rebounds per game rank seventh in the Frontier. She is second in the league and 36th in the NAIA at 2.39 steals per game and she is 28th nationally with 55 total steals. Pappas pulls down 13.2 percent of available offensive rebounds while she is on the floor and 14.7 percent of all rebounds.

Approaching 1,000
Allie Eastman is averaging 7.9 points per game this season and has scored 939 points in her career. She needs to average 10.17 points per game over the remaining six games on the schedule to become to seventh player in school history to score 1,000 career points. She has reached double figures in eight 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 74.4 percent at the stripe to lead the Frontier and rank fifth 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 16th in the country by making 82.2 percent of her attempts, including her last eight attempts, and she shoots 92.9 percent in clutch situations.

Massey Ratings
The Griffins remained fourth in the latest edition of the Massey Ratings. Westminster has a rating of 1.17 and also ranks fifth with a power rating of 28.36.  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. 1.

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 and HD on 681-1.

Looking Ahead
Westminster visits Great Falls on Feb. 15 and Montana State-Northern on Feb. 16 to continue this four-game road swing. The action both nights will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the UGF game airing on the Altitude Sports Network.