SALT LAKE CITY – The fourth-ranked Westminster women's basketball team kicked off the new season with a 65-57 win over No.14 The Master's (Calif.) on Friday afternoon at the Westminster Tipoff Classic.
 
Westminster (1-0) extended is school-record home winning streak to 26 games. The last home loss came in the season opener against The Master's in 2012.
 
The Griffins never trailed in the game and only allowed the Mustangs (0-1) to tie the game on three occasions. The last tie came at 50-50 with 8:07 to play after the visitors completed a 22-10 run to draw even. Westminster closed with a 15-7 run that featured 11 points from Tia Pappas, including a pair of threes.
 
Westminster shot 43.6 percent from the floor and had a 34-22 edge in the paint. They were 6-of-19 from beyond the arc and grabbed 35 rebounds – 11 offensive – and handed out 15 assists. They limited Master's to 40.4 percent shooting and forced them into 17 turnovers.
 
Pappas led all scorers with a career-high 25 points. She went 9-of-12 from the field while also getting four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Amy Krommenhoek added 20 points with a career-best eight assists and four steals. Jessica Sorensen had 10 points and five rebounds off the bench while Amanda Hacking grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.
 
Megan Lindsley led four Mustangs in double figures with 16 points. Bianca Cubello scored 13 points with five rebounds and Whitney Best had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists.
 
The Griffins will close out the Tipoff Classic on Saturday morning when they face College of Idaho at 11 a.m. MT in the Behnken Field House.  The Master's will face Montana Western, a 61-47 winner over C of I, in the day's first game at 9 a.m.