SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 Westminster women's basketball team is back in the Behnken Field House this week as they play host to a pair of Frontier Conference games. Westminster welcomes Montana Tech to town on Thursday before facing No. 18 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Saturday. Both games will tip at 5:30 p.m. MT.
 
Tickets: Westminster launched its new ticket site last week and tickets and now available for all remaining home games on the schedule. Fans can visit WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets and create an account to purchase tickets which they can print at home.
 
On the Web: Both games this week will be broadcast live on Griffins TV with Mike Lageschulte (play-by-play) and Lance Barton (analyst) calling the action. Griffins TV is available on the web and on a mobile device or Roku player through the Livestream app. Live stats will also be available for both of the games with links for all the live features available at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
Griffin Fast Break: Westminster returns home at 14-2 overall this season and they are 4-1 in Frontier Conference play. They have won four straight games overall and 23 consecutive home games against unranked foes. The Griffins are 12-0 on the year when leading at halftime and they are 11-0 when they score at least 60 points.
 
Offense Notebook: The Griffins average 64.69 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 43.7 percent from the field to rank 13th in the NAIA and they sit eighth in the country by making 36.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins make 7.19 treys per game – 14th in the NAIA – while posting 15.88 assists per game which ranks 16th nationally.
 
Defense Notebook: Westminster is giving up just 48.44 points per game and they rank second in the country in that department. They have held 10 opponents under 50 points during the year while placing ninth in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 34.9 percent shooting. The Griffins force 16.44 turnovers per game with an average of 8.44 steals per contest.
 
Leaders: Tia Pappas leads the team in scoring this season with 120 points for an average of 14.38 per game. Amy Krommenhoek has scored 191 points and she leads the squad with 90 assists and 38 steals. Amanda Hacking has added 145 points and grabbed a team-best 125 rebounds, including 45 offensive. Mika Pinner has a team-best 14 blocked shots.
 
Looking Back: Westminster defeated two ranked opponents on the road last weekend by winning at No. 22 Great Falls (Mont.), 53-49, and they at No. 10 Montana State-Northern in double overtime, 67-62. Tia Pappas earned Frontier Conference Player of the Week by averaging 14 points and 10.5 rebounds per game on the trip. She had 15 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season against MSU-Northern.
 
In the Polls: Westminster remained at No. 4 on Tuesday when the NAIA released the fifth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Griffins received 226 points to sit in the top-five of the NAIA poll for the 19th straight poll. They have now been ranked in a school-record 42 straight polls and 87 polls all-time. The next regular season poll will be released on Feb. 3.
 
Playing Ranked Foes: Westminster has played seven ranked teams on the season and they have gone 5-2 in those outings. They have won two straight against ranked teams and are 4-1 against those teams away from home. The Massey Ratings rank the Westminster schedule as the second-toughest played to date.
 
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 86-6 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 86 conference wins during that span is 23 more than the 63 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 317 3-point field goals this season which accounts for 37.1 percent of their total shots taken. They rank 14th in the NAIA by making 7.19 per game and they sit eighth at 36.3 percent from distance. They have made at least six treys in 12 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 47.48.44 points per game and they have held nine opponents to 46 points or less. The opposition shoots 34.9 percent from the floor and 27.2 percent from three to rank Westminster ninth and 16th respectively in those categories.
 
Defense to Offense: While they hold opponents to under 50 points per game, Westminster has also took advantage of turnovers by the opposition. The Griffins are forcing 16.44 turnovers per game which results in 17.4 points per game. That is 1.06 points from every turnover and accounts for 26.9 percent of their total scoring average. Westminster ranks 20th in the NAIA with a 3.62 turnover margin and they are allowing 12.1 points per game from their own miscues.
 
Sharing the Rock: This year's team has been sharing the basketball and they currently sit 16th in the NAIA by averaging 15.88 assists per game. That average would rank ninth in school history and is the highest assist average since the 2009-10 campaign. The Griffins have recorded an assists on 67.9 percent of their total field goals this season. Krommenhoek leads the team and ranks fifth in the country at 5.63 assists per game.
 
Inside the Metrics: Westminster enters the weekend averaging 64.69 points per game, but their offensive efficiency has the Griffins averaging 103.4 points per 100 possessions. They are currently averaging 63 possessions per game. At the defensive end, Westminster opponents average 77.4 points per 100 possessions. While on the floor, Amy Krommenhoek is assisting on 37 percent of her teammates field goals and Amanda Hacking grabs 17.7 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 14.38 points per game. She is shooting 46.8 percent from the floor to rank 31st in the NAIA while her 48.1 percentage from beyond the arc is third nationally. Pappas also sits 42nd in the NAIA by averaging 2.13 steals per game.
 
Chasing 1,000: Pappas is closing in on becoming the eighth player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. She enters the week with 940 career points, having scored 230 points this season. She would need to average 6.0 points per game through the remaining 10 games on the schedule to hit the mark. At her current season average, Pappas will reach the plateau against Montana Western on Feb. 14 in the Behnken Field House and finish the season with 1,085 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 11.94 points per game and she has been in double figures 12 times. Krommenhoek ranks fifth in the country by handing out 5.63 assists per game while sitting fifth with her 3.60 assist-to-turnover ratio. She makes 36.4 percent from three – 46th in the country – and she is 33rd in the NAIA by making 2.25 treys per game.
 
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 47.4 percent from three on the year to rank fifth in the NAIA and she averages 2.31 made threes per outing to sit 30th nationally. Winters is averaging 9.5 points per game during the season while distributing 2.31 assists. She is the Westminster all-time leader in 3-point field goal percentage by making 50.5 percent from deep over the past two seasons.
 
Looking Ahead: Westminster will spend next week on the road as they begin the second half of the conference season. The Griffins visit Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Feb. 5 before playing at Carroll (Mont.) on Feb. 7. Both of those games will begin at 5:30 p.m. MT.