SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 5 Westminster women's basketball team will travel to Dillon, Mont. for a Saturday matinee at Montana Western. The game will tip at 2 p.m. MT from Straugh Gymnasium in the first of two meetings between the Frontier Conference foes this season.
 
On the Web: Saturday's game will be streamed live on the web through the Montana Western Livestream channel. There will also be live stats available during the game. Links for the live features are available on the Westminster Athletics web site.
 
Griffin Fast Break: Westminster travels to Dillon at 11-2 on the season and they are 1-1 in the Frontier Conference and they are ranked fifth in this week's NAIA coaches' poll. They have won 29 straight games against unranked opponents and eight straight Frontier Conference road games.
 
Offense Notebook: The Griffins average 65.77 points per game on the year and they have scored at least 70 points in a game four times on the year. The team shoots 44.6 percent from the field to rank sixth in the NAIA and they sit eighth in the country by making 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins make 7.23 treys per game – 13th in the NAIA – while posting 16.31 assists per game which ranks 18th nationally.
 
Defense Notebook: Westminster is giving up just 47.62 points per game and they rank second in the country in that department. They have held eight opponents under 50 points during the year while placing 10th in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 34.3 percent shooting. The Griffins force 16.3 turnovers per game with an average of 8.31 steals per contest.
 
Leaders: Tia Pappas leads the team in scoring this season with 190 points for an average of 14.62 per game. Amy Krommenhoek has scored 150 points and she leads the squad with 76 assists and 33 steals. Amanda Hacking has added 132 points and grabbed a team-best 108 rebounds, including 38 offensive. Mika Pinner has a team-best nine blocked shots.
 
Looking Back: Westminster opened Frontier Conference play by splitting a pair of home games last week. After falling to Carroll (Mont.), 55-50, on Thursday, they came back to down Rocky Mountain (Mont.), 75-40, on Saturday. Pappas had 22 points and eight rebounds against Carroll and then went for 23 points and seven rebounds against Rocky Mountain.
 
In the Polls: Westminster dropped to No. 5 on Tuesday when the NAIA released the third regular-season edition of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Griffins received 189 points to sit in the top-five of the NAIA poll for the 29th straight poll. They have now been ranked in a school-record 40 straight polls and 52 polls all-time. The next regular season poll will be released on Jan. 20.
 
Conference Dominance: The Griffins have been the team to beat in the Frontier Conference over the past six-plus seasons. Since the start of the 2008-09 season, Westminster has gone 83-6 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 83 conference wins during that span is 22 more than the 61 posted by the next highest team during the stretch, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho).
 
Home Dominance: Since the start of the 2012-13 season, Westminster has compiled a 30-2 mark in the Behnken Field House. The .938 winning percentage during that time is the best three-year home mark in school history. They had won 29 straight home games, including 23 home conference games, before losing to Carroll on Jan. 8.
 
Love the Long Ball: Westminster has attempted 258 3-point field goals this season which accounts for 37.1 percent of their total shots taken. They are 13th in the NAIA by making 7.23 per game and they sit eighth at 36.4 percent from distance. They have made at least six treys in 10 of the 13 games this season while hitting for double-digit threes on three occasions, including a season-high 13 against Eastern Oregon on Nov. 29.
 
Getting Defensive: Westminster has established as one of the top defensive teams in the country over the past three-plus seasons. This season, the Griffins are second in the nation by allowing just 47.62 points per game and they have held eight opponents to 46 points or less. The opposition shoots 34.3 percent from the floor and 28.4 percent from three to rank Westminster 10th and 36th respectively in those categories.
 
Sharing the Rock: This year's team has been sharing the basketball and they currently sit 18th in the NAIA by averaging 16.31 assists per game. That average would rank seventh in school history and is the highest assist average since the 2009-10 campaign. The Griffins have recorded an assists on 68.4 percent of their total field goals this season. Krommenhoek leads the team and ranks fifth in the country at 5.85 assists per game.
 
Inside the Metrics: Westminster enters the weekend averaging 65.77 points per game, but their offensive efficiency has the Griffins averaging 106 points per 100 possessions. They are currently averaging 62 possessions per game. At the defensive end, Westminster opponents average 76.8 points per 100 possessions. While on the floor, Amy Krommenhoek is assisting on 38.5 percent of her teammates field goals and Amanda Hacking grabs 18.5 percent of available rebounds.
 
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 isn't disappointing. Pappas is currently ranked in the Frontier top-20 in 16 statistical categories and she is fifth in the conference by scoring 14.62 points per game. She ranks 37th in the NAIA by notching 43.92 assists per game while sitting fourth by making 47.7 percent from beyond the arc. Pappas has scored in double figures 10 times this season and has four games with at least 20 points.
 
Chasing 1,000: Pappas closing in on becoming the eighth player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. She enters the week with 900 career points, having scored 190 points this season. She would need to average 7.69 points per game through the remaining 13 games on the schedule to hit the mark. At her current season average, Pappas will reach the plateau at Carroll on Feb. 7 and finish the season with 1,080 points to rank sixth all-time.
 
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 is scoring 11.54 points per game and she has been in double figures nine times. Krommenhoek ranks fifth in the country by handing out 5.85 assists per game while sitting fourth with her 3.62 assist-to-turnover ratio. She makes 33.7 percent from three and is 35th in the NAIA by making 2.23 treys per game. She had a career-high 10 assists for her first career double-double in the win at Hope International on Nov. 21.
 
Winters from Deep: After leading the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage last season at 52.5 percent, Winters has continued that hot shooting this season. The senior is shooting 47.7 percent from three on the year to rank fourth in the NAIA and she averages 2.39 made threes per outing to sit 27th nationally. Winters is averaging 9.3 points per game during the season while distributing 2.62 assists. She is the Westminster all-time leader in 3-point field goal percentage by making 50.8 percent from deep over the past two seasons.
 
Hacking the Glass: Amanda Hacking has been a force on the boards this season and she currently leads the team with 108 rebounds and ranks 30th in the nation with an average of 8.31 rebounds per game. Hacking grabs 5.39 rebounds per game on the defensive end – 37th in the nation – and she is scoring 10.2 points per game. The junior has grabbed double-digit rebounds five times this season and she has posted three double-doubles.
 
Looking Ahead: Westminster will return to the road next week for a pair of conference road games. They visit Great Falls (Mont.) on Jan. 23 before facing Montana State-Northern on Jan. 24.