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SALT LAKE CITY – The third-ranked Westminster College women's basketball team begins a stretch of four straight homes games on Thursday when play Dickinson State (N.D.) at 5:30 p.m. MST in the Behnken Field House. The Griffins will then face Carroll (Mont.) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. MST. Westminster Hall of Fame inductee Rebekah Steenblik Beck will be honored at halftime of the Carroll 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 begins the final four home games of the regular season at 16-2 overall this season and carrying a season-long nine-game winning streak. They sit at 10-0 in Frontier Conference games to maintain a one-game lead over Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in the race for the regular season title. The Griffins are 7-0 at home this season and they have won 19 straight home games dating back to last season.

Westminster continues to lead the NAIA in 3-point shooting by connecting on 40.8 percent from beyond the arc. They make an average of 8.06 threes per game to place 10th in the NAIA and they are 15th with a total of 145 made treys. The Griffins score 70.28 points per game and they lead the Frontier and place fourth in the nation by shooting 46.1 percent from the field.

The Griffins have been stellar at the defensive end all season as they hold the opposition to 55.22 points per game. They place fourth in the country in scoring defense which helps them rank 15th in scoring margin at 15.06 points per game.  Westminster allows just 29.83 rebounds per outing, second in the NAIA, and they force 16.17 turnovers per contest.

Alli Blake is the team's top scorer at 13.94 points per game and she is seventh in the NAIA by shooting 54.1 percent. Blake also leads the squad with 80 assists and her 4.44 assists per game average ranks 22nd in the country. Shelby Ellsworth scores 11.11 points per night while leading the team in rebounds at 5.89 per game. Tia Pappas averages 10.56 points and records 2.28 steals per game.

NATIONAL RANKING
Westminster received a season-high 234 points to hold at No. 3 in the sixth regular season edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on Tuesday. This is the third 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 30 consecutive polls dating back to Dec. 12, 2011. They have also spent the last 19 polls inside the top five, which is the longest active streak in the country.

AROUND THE FRONTIER
With six games remaining in the Frontier Conference season, Westminster is 10-0 and they hold a one-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 four to earn a bye into the semi-finals.

BOMBS AWAY
Westminster continues its hot shooting from beyond the arc this season. The Griffins rank 10th in the NAIA by making 8.06 triples per contest and they lead the country by making 40.8 percent from beyond the arc. They have recorded at least five threes in all but one game this season and they matched a season-high with 12 made at Dickinson State last Thursday.

Alli Winters leads the NAIA as the junior makes 58.4 percent of her long range attempts. She is 19th in the country by making 2.5 triples per outing and has made three or more in a game 10 times. Amy Krommenhoek is shooting 46.3 percent from long range to place sixth in the NAIA and is 46th with an average of 2.06 makes per game. Kelsi Wells makes 1.67 per game and is 30th by shooting 39.5 percent from beyond the arc.

FRONTIER DOMINANCE
Going back to the start of the 2008-09 season, Westminster has dominated the Frontier Conference to the tune of a 76-5 (.938) 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 57-24 (.704) and Montana State-Northern at 43-39 (.524) have winning records in Frontier action. The Griffins have won 19 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 70.28 points per game, they are efficient with the basketball. Westminster is averaging 109.7 points per 100 possessions while posting 16.17 assists per game to place 12th in the NAIA. They rank second in the country with a 1.35 assist-to-turnover ratio and fourth by holding the opposition to 55.22 points per night. Griffin opponents are scoring 86.2 points per 100 possessions and are committing 16.2 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 13.94 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 seventh in the NAIA by shooting 54.1 percent from the floor and 22nd by handing out 4.44 assist per game. She has led the team in assists in 11 games while twice going for at least seven assists. Blake assists on 27.9 percent of all Westminster field goals while she is on the floor.

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 second on the team in scoring at 11.11 points per game and she has been in double figures on 12 occasions. She also leads the team in rebounds at 5.89 per game as the sophomore grabs 13 percent of all available rebounds while she is on the floor.

LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster closes out the home portion of the regular season with game against Great Falls (Mont.) on Feb. 13 and Montana State-Northern on Feb. 15. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m. MST from the Behnken Field House.