The Westminster women's basketball team begin play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference by hosting No. 23/- Colorado Mesa on Saturday. The conference opener for both teams will tip at 5:30 p.m. MT, in the Behnken Field House.
 
Tickets for Saturday's game are available by visiting WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.
 
3 THINGS
>Westminster will begin RMAC play riding a three-game winning streak
>The Griffins are closing in on the 500th game in school history, having gone 306-187 (.621) in 493 all-time games
>Westminster leads the RMAC by allowing 54.0 points per game
 
COVERING THE GRIFFINS
All Griffin home games are broadcast live on Griffins TV and feature Mike Lageschulte calling the play-by-play. Head Coach Shelley Jarrard joins the broadcast during the Griffins Pregame Show and Postgame Show. Griffins TV will also carry all RMAC road games. Fans can find Griffins TV at portal.stretchinternet.com/Westminster.
 
There will also be live stats available during the game at www.sidearmstats.com/westminster/wbball.
 
FOLLOWING WESTMINSTER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Make sure to like Westminster Griffins on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube for the latest news about the Griffins. Game updates are provided on Twitter by following @wc_griffins.
 
Fans can stay connected with Westminster women's basketball by following @westminster_womens_basketball on Instagram.
 
ABOUT WESTMINSTER
Westminster begins conference action at 3-1 overall this season and riding a three-game winning streak. They are 1-0 at home on the year and have won nine straight home games dating back to last season.
 
The Griffins are eighth in the conference by scoring 65.2 points per game and they are second in the league by shooting 42.7 percent from the floor. They average 6.3 threes per game and connect on 32.1 percent from beyond the arc. The team ranks fourth in the RAMC in assists at 15.3 per night and they sit sixth with a 0.8 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Westminster leads the league in scoring defense by holding opponents to 54.0 points per game. The opposition has shot just 30.5 percent from the field and made only 27.5 percent from three. The Griffins grab 40.8 rebounds per game and average 10.5 steals per night to help them force 14.75 turnovers a contest.
 
Natalie Parsons leads the team in scoring and ranks sixth in the RMAC by scoring 16.0 points per game. Denise Gonzalez scores 9.5 points per game with Jessica Sorensen and Aubrie Vale adding 9.3 and 9.0 per game respectively. Vale leads the team with 22 rebounds with Parsons grabbing 21. Gonzalez leads the team with 18 assists and 13 steals. Mika Pinner has a team-high nine blocked shots.
 
LOOKING BACK
Westminster used a strong second half to take a 61-55 win at Dixie State on November 24. Natalie Parsons led three Griffins in double figures with a career high 24 points. The Griffins shot 44 percent from the field and outscored the Red Storm 28-18 in the paint.
 
After a close first quarter, the Griffins outscored Northwest Nazarene 51-20 in the second and third to cruise to an 88-60 win over Northwest Nazarene on November 27. Denise Gonzalez led the way with 22 points and five assists with Aubrie Vale adding 21 points and 11 rebounds. The team shot 57.4 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arc.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
•No. 23/- Colorado Mesa – The Mavericks will come to Salt Lake City at 3-1 overall this season and winners of two straight. They are coming off a 64-61 win over Dixie State on November 28. Bryanna Adams and Sydney Small are averaging 17.0 and 16.5 points per game respectively to rank fourth and fifth in the RMAC.
 
SERIES NOTES
Colorado Mesa has gone 3-0 in all-time meetings with the Griffins. The teams haven't played since 2002 when they played four a third straight season. CMU won the only games played in Salt Lake City, 82-55 on November 23, 2001, in Payne Gymnasium.
 
DEFENSE SETS THE TONE
Westminster begins play this week leading the RMAC in scoring defense by allowing just 54.0 points per game. The Griffins have held three of the four opponents to 60 points or less and they held Adams State to only 28 points, matching a school record for fewest points allowed, and the Grizzlies only shot 14.8 percent from the field. None of the four opponents have shot above 50 percent from the field and only Fort Lewis was above 35 percent.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
Mika Pinner is back for her senior season and she gives the Griffins some rim protection. After leading the team with 29 blocked shots last season, Pinner has nine blocks this season. She ranks second in the RMAC by rejecting 2.3 shots per game. She tallied a career high four blocks in the win at Dixie State and has multiple blocks in three straight outings. Pinner ranks seventh in school history with 38 career blocked shots.
 
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Natalie Parsons has quickly become the focal point of the Griffin offense in her first season with the team. The senior transfer leads the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game – sixth in the RMAC – and she has scored in double figures three times. Parsons has twice scored 20 points in a game, including a career high 24 at Dixie State on November 24. She also ranks second on the team with 13 assists and nine steals.
 
GIVE & TAKE
Denise Gonzalez has started all four games at point guard and she currently leads the team with 18 assists and 13 steals. The freshman is tied for third in the RMAC at 4.5 assists per game while ranking fourth at 3.3 steals per night. Gonzalez averages 9.5 points per game to rank second on the team and she scored a career high 22 points in the win against Northwest Nazarene on November 27.
 
OVER AT HALFTIME
With its win over Adams State and Northwest Nazarene, Westminster extended its winning streak when leading at halftime to 72 consecutive games. They have also won 78 straight games when grabbing more rebounds than the opposition and 38 straight when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
The Griffins been stellar at home during their recent success. The team is 38-2 in the Behnken Field House since the start of the 2012-13 season and they enter the week having won nine straight and 38 of the past 39 games played at home.
 
GRIFFINS PICKED 12TH
Westminster received 73 points and was picked to finish 12th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released on October 15. The Griffins were chosen to place seventh in the Rocky Division, ahead of only South Dakota Mines. Colorado Mesa was chosen as the favorite to win the league with UCCS, Colorado Christian, and Regis also receiving first-place votes.
 
ALL RMAC GAMES ON GRIFFINS TV
New this season, fans will be able to watch all Westminster conference games on the Griffins TV Game Central portal. All Griffin conference games will be shown at portal.stretchinternet.com/Westminster and you will have the ability to watch multiple conference games at the same time. You can find all of the RMAC action by visiting RMACsports.tv.
 
RMAC SHOWCASE ON ALTITUDE
The RMAC Showcase is a monthly 30-minute feature driven television show with stories and highlights from around the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Episodes are shot on location at the 16 campus sites around the RMAC, various conference championships and at the RMAC office in Colorado Springs. Now in its 12th season on the Altitude Sports Network - the most watched regional sports network in the Rockies which is seen in more than 5.1 million homes in across the country - the RMAC Showcase is the longest running program on Altitude, not produced by the network itself. Altitude is available in the Salt Lake City market on Comcast 61, Dish Network 413, and DirecTV 681.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster will remain at home for two more RMAC games next weekend. They host MSU Denver on December 11 and then UCCS on December 12. Both games will start at 5:30 p.m. MT, in the Behnken Field House. Tickets for both games are available by visiting WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.