SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 Westminster women's basketball team will remain at home this week for a pair of games at the Westminster Fall Classic. Westminster opens the week against Concordia (Calif.) on Friday at 7 p.m. MT. They then close the action on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Arizona Christian.
 
Every game of the Fall Classic will be played in the Behnken Field House on the campus of Westminster College. Friday's first game tips at 5 p.m. between Montana Tech and Arizona Christian. Tech will then face Concordia in a Saturday contest at 3 p.m.
 
On the Web: All four games of the Fall Classic will be broadcast live on Griffins TV. The games involving Westminster will feature Mike Lageschulte (play-by-play) and Lance Barton (analyst) on the call. Griffins TV is available online and on mobile devices and Roku players through the Livestream app. There will also be live stats available for all of the games.
 
Griffin Fast Break: Westminster enters the second week of action at 2-0 on the season after a pair of home wins last week during the Westminster Tipoff Classic. The Griffins are averaging 64.5 points per game and they are shooting 42.3 percent from the field. They currently sit ninth in the NAIA by making nine triples per game and 22nd by shooting 36.7 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Griffins are giving up just 45 points per game through the first two games of the season. They held the opposition to 32.7 percent shooting – 18th in the country – while forcing 18 turnovers per contest. The Griffins allowed just 32.5 rebounds per game and 26.1 percent shooting from deep.
 
Tia Pappas leads the team in scoring at 21.5 points per game and the senior is shooting 60 percent from the floor. She also recorded a team-best 11 assists with 11 rebounds, six steals and one blocked shot. Amy Krommenhoek is averaging 18 points per game and leads the team with eight steals. Amanda Hacking has a team-high 16 rebounds.
 
Looking Back: Westminster opened the new season with a pair of victories at the Westminster Tipoff Classic. They defeated No. 14 The Master's (Calif.), 65-57, last Friday before taking down College of Idaho, 64-33, on Saturday. Pappas scored 25 points against Master's with Krommenhoek going for 10 points and eight assists. Pappas then had 18 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in the win over College of Idaho.
 
In the Polls: Westminster will begin the year with a No. 4 national ranking according to the 2014 - 15 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced on Oct. 28. The Griffins received 226 points to sit in the top-five of the NAIA poll for the 26th straight poll.
 
Frontier Favorites: In a poll of the Frontier Conference coaches, Westminster was selected as the favorite to win the conference title this season. They received all seven available first-place votes and finished with 49 total points to take the top spot. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) was selected second with 41 points and one first-place vote.
 
Conference Dominance: The Griffins have been the team to beat in the Frontier Conference over the past six seasons. Since the start of the 2008-09 season, Westminster has gone 82-5 in league games and won six straight conference titles. They have twice gone undefeated in league play, including a 16-0 mark last season. The 82 wins during that span is 22 more than the 60 posted by the next highest team during the stretch, Lewis-Clark State.
 
Home Dominance: Since the start of the 2012-13 season, Westminster has compiled a 27-1 mark in the Behnken Field House. The .964 winning percentage during that time is the best three-year home mark in school history. They have won a school-record 27 straight home games dating back to the season opener of the 2012-13 season.
 
Love the Long Ball: Westminster attempted 49 three-point field goals during the two games of the Tipoff Classic. They finished with 18 makes and they sit ninth in the NAIA by making nine treys per outing. They shot 36.7 percent from beyond the arc during the first two games and currently rank 22nd in the nation with that percentage. Krommenhoek made 3.5 triples per game which is 13th nationally and Pappas is sixth in the country by shooting 66.7 percent from deep.
 
Getting Defensive: Westminster has been one of the premier defensive teams in the country over the past four seasons. After finishing second in the country last season by allowing just 52.24 points per game, the Griffins held the first two opponents of this season to only 45 points per game. They currently rank sixth in the NAIA in scoring defense and 18th in field goal defense by holding opponents to 32.7 percent shooting.
 
Pappas for Player of the Year: The Frontier coaches selected Westminster senior Tia Pappas as the Preseason Player of the Year in the conference and she didn't disappoint during the opening weekend. Pappas earned Frontier Player of the Week honors after averaging 21.5 points per game and shooting 60 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three. The senior is currently 12th in the country in points per game while also placing 18th in field goal percentage and sixth in 3-point field goal percentage. Pappas also grabbed 11 rebounds with 11 assists and six steals in the two wins.
 
Krommenhoek a Starter: After being named the Frontier Conference Sixth-Player of the Year last season, Amy Krommenhoek has moved into the starting lineup this season. The senior averaged 18 points per game during the first two games of the season. She made seven threes and is shooting 41.2 percent form beyond the arc while also leading the team with eight steals. Krommenhoek scored 20 points with eight assists and four steals in the opening night win over The Master's.
 
Winters from Deep: After leading the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage last season at 52.5 percent, Alli Winters is back in 2014-15. The senior went 4-of-11 from beyond the arc in the first two games, including three makes against College of Idaho. She is averaging 6.0 points per game on the year with five assists, five rebounds, one steal and no turnovers.
 
Hacking the Glass: Amanda Hacking opened the season by grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds – four offensive – in the win over Master's. She had another five boards with four on the offensive end against College of Idaho. Hacking is currently 47th in the NAIA by grabbing 8.0 rebounds per game and she is 23rd at 4.0 offensive rebounds per night. She scored 11 points in the two wins and recorded one steal.
 
Looking Ahead: Westminster will spend next weekend in Calif. for a pair of road contests. They visit No. 23 Hope International (Calif.) on Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. MT before a Nov. 22 contest at Biola (Calif.) at 6 p.m.