SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 Westminster women's basketball team opens the new season this weekend with a pair of contests at the Westminster Tipoff Classic. The weekend begins on Friday when Westminster faces No. 14 The Master's (Calif.) at 3 p.m. MT. They will then face longtime rival College of Idaho on Saturday at 11 a.m.
 
Every game of the Tipoff Classic will be played in the Behnken Field House on the campus of Westminster College. Friday's first game tips at 1 p.m. between Montana Western and College of Idaho. Western will then face The Master's in a Saturday contest at 9 a.m.
 
On the Web: All four games of the Tipoff 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 begins the new season with a No. 4 national ranking in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll that was released on Oct. 28. They are coming off a 2013-14 season that saw them finish 26-3 overall and reach the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship for a second straight year. The Griffins won a sixth straight Frontier Conference title with a perfect 16-0 mark and claimed a second consecutive conference tournament championship.
 
What's Returning: This year's team welcomes back nine players, including four starters from last season. The group of returners accounted for 62.9 percent of the team's total points last season and made 77 percent of their 3-point field goals.
 
What's New: The 2014-15 squad welcomes four newcomers to the roster. That group includes a pair of junior college transfers and two true freshmen.
 
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: Over the past two seasons, the Griffins have compiled a 25-1 mark in the Behnken Field House. The .962 winning percentage during that time is the best two-year home mark in team history. They enter this week having won 25 consecutive home games with the last loss coming to The Master's on Nov. 8, 2012.
 
Season Openers: Friday will mark the start of the 16th season of women's basketball at Westminster. During that time, the Griffins have compiled a 6-9 record in season openers. Taking into account the first two games of a season Westminster is 14-16 since the start of the 1999-2000 campaign. This marks the sixth time the team has opened a new season at home and they are 2-3 in those affairs.
 
Love the Long Ball: Last season the Griffins shot 39.7 percent from beyond the arc to lead the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage. They averaged 7.35 triples per game to rank 14th in the country while their 213 total threes placed 16th in the nation. Alli Winters was the top shooter from deep in the country as she connected on 52.5 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Getting Defensive: Westminster was also one of the premier defensive teams in the NAIA last season. The Griffins held the opposition to 54.24 points per game last season, ranking second in the country. They led the nation by allowing just 29.07 rebounds per game to the opposition while placing 47th by giving up 39.4 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. Pappas is coming off a season in which she scored 11.6 points per game and was 25th in the NAIA with an average of 2.35 steals per game. The honorable mention NAIA All-American enters this season fourth in school history with 166 steals and her 710 career points place 13th at Westminster.
 
Krommenhoek a Starter: After being named the Frontier Conference Sixth-Player of the Year last season, look for Amy Krommenhoek to move into the starting lineup this season. The senior is coming off a season in which she averaged 8.8 points per game and was eighth in the NAIA by making 44 percent from beyond the arc. She made 59 threes and averaged 2.03 per game to rank 48th in the NAIA in both categories last season. Krommenhoek begins this season with 93 made threes for her career and sits 10th in school history in that department.
 
Counting on Ellsworth: Shelby Ellsworth returns this season after a 2013-14 season that saw her average 10.5 points per game and lead the team with 167 rebounds. Ellsworth scored in double figures 16 times last season and she has reached that mark 32 times in her career. She also leads all current Griffins with five career double-doubles and seven double-digit rebound games.
 
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 played in all 29 games last season where she made 28 starts. Winters finished the season with 64 threes – tied for seventh-most in school history – and she enters this season with the14th most made threes all-time. She also ranked third on the team with 62 assists and had 22 steals.
 
Exhibition Recap: The Griffins played an exhibition game at Brigham Young last Saturday in a tune-up for the season and they came away with a 59-54 win over the NCAA D-I foe. The Griffins had three players score in double figures and they out-rebounded the Cougars 47-33, including 13 offensive rebounds. Pappas led the way with 16 points and 12 rebounds with Ellsworth going for 15 and Winters getting 12.
 
Looking Ahead: Westminster will remain at home next weekend when they play a pair of games during the Westminster Fall Classic. The Griffins will play Concordia (Calif.) on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. MT before a Nov. 15 contest with Arizona Christian at 5 p.m.