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SALT LAKE CITY – The third-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team closes out the home portion of the regular season with a pair of games in the Behnken Field House this week. Westminster welcomes Great Falls (Mont.) to town on Thursday before facing No. 19 Montana State-Northern on Saturday. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m. MST with the senior class being honored following Saturday's game.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Both home games this week will be shown live on Griffins TV and also on Comcast 6 in northern Utah. Mike Lageschulte handles the play-by-play and is joined by analyst Lance Barton. Live Stats will also be available for both games this weekend. Links for all of the live features are available by clicking here.

GRIFFIN NOTES
Westminster enters the final four games of the regular season at 18-2 overall and a perfect 12-0 in Frontier Conference action. The Griffins have clinched one of the six spots in the upcoming conference tournament and need one win to earn a bye into the semi-finals. They have gone 9-0 at home this season and won 21 straight home games dating back to last season.

Westminster continues to lead the NAIA in 3-point shooting by connecting on 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. They make an average of 8.05 threes per game to place 10th in the NAIA and they are 14th with a total of 161 made treys. The Griffins score 70.75 points per game and they lead the Frontier and place second in the nation by shooting 46.9 percent from the field.

The Griffins have been stellar at the defensive end all season as they hold the opposition to 53.85 points per game. They place second in the country in scoring defense which helps them rank 10th in scoring margin at 16.90 points per game.  Westminster is tops in the country by allowing the opposition just 29.5 rebounds per game and they force 16.55 turnovers per contest.

Alli Blake is the team's top scorer at 13.65 points per game and she is ninth in the NAIA by shooting 54.8 percent. Blake also leads the squad with 91 assists and her 4.55 assists per game average ranks 19th in the country. Tia Pappas averages 11.05 points and ranks 17th in the NAIA at 2.55 steals per game. Shelby Ellsworth is scoring 10.45 points while leading the team by grabbing 5.80 rebounds per contest.

NATIONAL RANKING
Westminster matched a season-high with 234 points to hold at No. 3 in the seventh regular season edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on Tuesday. This is the fourth straight week that the Griffins have been ranked No. 3 and matches the highest they have ever been ranked. The Griffins have now been ranked in the Top 25 for a school-record 31 consecutive polls dating back to Dec. 12, 2011. They have also spent the last 20 polls inside the top five, which is the longest active streak in the country.

CLOSING IN ON NUMBER 6
With four games remaining in the Frontier Conference season, Westminster is 12-0 and they hold a two-game lead over Lewis-Clark State for the conference lead. Westminster has already clinched one of the six spots in the Frontier Conference Tournament and they have a magic number of one to earn a bye into the semi-finals. With two wins this weekend, Westminster will secure a sixth consecutive Frontier Conference regular season title.

BOMBS AWAY
Westminster continues its hot shooting from beyond the arc this season. The Griffins rank 10th in the NAIA by making 8.05 triples per contest and they lead the country by shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. They have recorded at least five threes in all but two games this season and they matched a season-high with 12 made against Dickinson State last Thursday.

Westminster has the top two long range shooters in the NAIA in Alli Winters and Amy Krommenhoek. Winters makes 57.3 percent from beyond the arc with Krommenhoek connecting on 51.1 percent of her attempts. They each make 2.35 treys per game which places 27th in the NAIA. Krommenhoek is coming off a weekend that she went 10-of-12 (83.3%) from three and moved from seventh to second in the country in 3-point field goal percentage.

FRONTIER DOMINANCE
Going back to the start of the 2008-09 season, Westminster has dominated the Frontier Conference to the tune of a 78-5 (.940) mark. They have won five straight regular season titles and have only dropped more than one league game in a season one time. During that span, only Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) at 58-25 (.699) and Montana State-Northern at 44-40 (.524) have winning records in Frontier action. The Griffins have won 21 straight home conference games, going undefeated at home in league play for two straight seasons.

BALL CONTROL
While the Griffins are third in the Frontier by scoring 70.75 points per game, they are efficient with the basketball. Westminster is averaging 111.2 points per 100 possessions while posting 16.70 assists per game to place ninth in the NAIA. They rank second in the country with a 1.41 assist-to-turnover ratio and second by holding the opposition to 53.85 points per night. Griffin opponents are scoring 84.6 points per 100 possessions and are committing 16.55 turnovers per game.

THE BLAKE SHOW
Senior Alli Blake has been doing a little bit of everything for the Griffins this season. She currently leads the team in scoring at 13.65 points per game to place fifth in the Frontier. Blake has been named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week twice this season. She is ninth in the NAIA by shooting 54.8 percent from the floor and 19th by handing out 4.55 assist per game. She has led the team in assists in 13 games while three times going for at least seven assists. Blake assists on 28.8 percent of all Westminster field goals while she is on the floor.

PAPPAS ALL OVER THE PLACE
Tia Pappas continues to wreak havoc on the opposition as the junior is scoring 11.05 points per game. The scrappy defender is second in the Frontier and 17th in the NAIA by grabbing 2.55 steals per contest. Her 51 total steals place 29th in the country. Pappas also shoots 75.3 percent at the foul line and collects 5.50 rebounds per game, including 2.70 on the offensive end, with one double-double.

WELCOME BACK ELLSWORTH
Sophomore Shelby Ellsworth returns after sitting out last season with a knee injury. Ellsworth posted the first 20-20 game in school history when she had 23 points and 20 rebounds in a game versus Cal Maritime in 2010. This season, Ellsworth is third on the team in scoring at 10.45 points per game and she has been in double figures on 12 occasions. She also leads the team in rebounds at 5.80 per game as the sophomore grabs 13 percent of all available rebounds while she is on the floor.

LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster closes out the regular season with two road games next week. They begin at Lewis-Clark State on Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. MST before the season finale at Montana Tech on Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m. MST.