SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 Westminster women's basketball team opens a three-game home span on Saturday when they welcome Montana Western to the Behnken Field House. The Frontier Conference game begins at a special early time of 2 p.m. (MT).
 
Tickets: Tickets for all three of the Griffins remaining home games are now available online at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets. Fans are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance through the new online site.
 
On the Web: Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Griffins TV with Mike Lageschulte calling the action. Griffins TV is available online and on a mobile device and Roku player through the Livestream app. Live stats will also be available during the game. Links for all of the live features can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
Griffin Fast Break: Westminster enters Saturday at 18-2 overall this season and they are first in the Frontier Conference at 8-1 in league games. They are riding an eight-game winning streak and have won the last three home games. The Griffins have defeated 32-straight unranked opponents and 24 consecutive home game against non-ranked foes. They are 16-0 this season when leading at halftime and 14-0 when scoring at least 60 points.
 
Offense Notebook: The Griffins average 65.55 points per game on the year and they have scored at least 70 points in a game six times on the year. The team shoots 44.3 percent from the field to rank 11th in the NAIA and they sit fourth in the country by making 37.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins make 7.50 treys per game – 12th in the NAIA – while posting 15.85 assists per game which ranks 16th nationally.
 
Defense Notebook: Westminster leads the country in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 47.25 points per game. They have held 14 opponents under 50 points during the year, including six of the last seven, while placing fifth in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 33.7 percent shooting. The Griffins force 15.75 turnovers per game with an average of 7.95 steals per contest.
 
Leaders: Tia Pappas has scored a team-high 275 points on the season and she is averaging 13.75 points per game. She also leads the NAIA by shooting 49.2 percent from beyond the arc with 32 made threes. Amy Krommenhoek has scored 245 points (12.25 per game) and she leads the team with 105 assists and 46 steals. Pappas and Amanda Hacking have a team-best 145 rebounds and Mika Pinner leads the way with 20 blocked shots.
 
Looking Back: Westminster extended its winning streak to eight by sweeping games at Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and then-No. 17 Carroll (Mont.). After cruising to a 55-37 win at Rocky Mountain, the Griffins used a 19-0 first-half run at Carroll to claim a 72-49 win. Krommenhoek led the way with 14 points against Rocky while Shelby Ellsworth had a team-best 15 points at Carroll.
 
In the Polls: Westminster remained at No. 4 on Tuesday when the NAIA released the seventh 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 21st-straight poll. They have now been ranked in a school-record 44 straight polls and 89 polls all-time.
 
Playing Ranked Foes: Westminster has played nine ranked teams on the season and they have gone 7-2 in those outings. They have won four-straight against ranked teams and are 5-1 against those teams away from home. The Griffins have faced at least one ranked opponent in each of the past five of the past six game weeks. According to the Massey Ratings, Westminster has played the second-toughest schedule this season.
 
Among the Best: Going back to the start of the 2011-12 season, Westminster has amassed 96 wins and recorded a .842 winning percentage. They rank seventh in the NAIA during the time in wins and third during the span in winning percentage. Only Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) at .917 and Oklahoma City at .915 have a better winning percentage over the past four seasons. This season, the Griffins rank seventh in winning percentage (.900) and are one of 17 teams that have at least 18 wins.
 
Home Dominance: Since the start of the 2012-13 season, Westminster has compiled a 32-2 mark in the Behnken Field House. The .941 winning percentage during that time is the best three-year home mark in school history. They have won three straight home games overall and eight against unranked opponents. The Griffins are 143-57 (.715) all-time at home and 109-22 (.832) in the Behnken Field House.
 
Love the Long Ball: Westminster has attempted 398 3-point field goals this season which accounts for 37 percent of their total shots taken. They rank 12th in the NAIA by making 7.50 per game and they sit fourth at 37.7 percent from distance. They have made at least six treys in 15 games this season while hitting for double-digit threes on four occasions. They made a season-high 14 threes and set a school-record by making 66.7 percent from beyond the arc against Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) on Jan. 31.
 
Getting Defensive: Westminster has established itself as one of the top defensive teams in the country over the past three-plus seasons. This season, the Griffins lead the NAIA by allowing just 47.25 points per game and they have held 12 opponents to 46 points or less. The opposition shoots 33.7 percent from the floor and 28.3 percent from three to rank Westminster fifth and 23rd respectively in those categories.
 
Defense to Offense: While they hold opponents to under 50 points per game, Westminster has also taken advantage of turnovers by the opposition. The Griffins are forcing 15.75 turnovers per game which results in 16.6 points per game. That is 1.05 points from every turnover and accounts for 25.2 percent of their total scoring average. Westminster ranks 25th in the NAIA with a 3.10 turnover margin and they are allowing 11.3 points per game from their own miscues.
 
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 15 statistical categories and she is seventh in the conference by scoring 13.75 points per game. She leads the nation by making 49.2 percent from beyond the arc with an average of 1.60 threes per game. Pappas distributes 3.55 assists per game to rank 45th in the country while sitting 46th nationally with 2.00 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 985 career points, having scored 275 points this season. She would need to average 2.50 points per game through the remaining six games on the schedule to hit the mark. At her current season average, Pappas will reach the plateau against Great Falls on Feb. 19 in the Behnken Field House and finish the season with 1,064 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 12.25 points per game and she has been in double figures 15 times. Krommenhoek ranks ninth in the country by handing out 5.25 assists per game while sitting sixth with her 3.09 assist-to-turnover ratio. She makes 39 percent from three – 29th in the country – and she is 26th in the NAIA by making 2.40 treys per game. The senior grabs 2.30 steals per game to sit 25th in the NAIA and her 48 total steals are 35th-most.
 
Winters from Deep: After leading the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage last season at 52.5 percent, Alli Winters has continued that hot shooting this season. The senior is shooting 44.2 percent from three on the year to rank ninth in the NAIA and she averages 2.10 made threes per outing to sit 43rd nationally. Winters is averaging 8.9 points per game during the season while distributing 2.60 assists. She is the Westminster all-time leader in 3-point field goal percentage by making 48.8 percent from deep over the past two seasons.
 
Frontier Conference Tournament: Westminster has clinched a spot in the six-team Frontier Conference Tournament that begins with quarterfinal games on March 3. They have a magic number of two for clinching a home playoff game and that number is five for securing a bye into the March 6 semifinals. Entering this week, the Griffins are the only conference team that has secured a spot in the tournament and no teams have been eliminated for tournament contention.
 
Looking Ahead: Westminster closes the home portion of their regular season schooled next week by hosting a pair of teams ranked in this week's NAIA Coaches' Poll. No. 20 Great Falls (Mont.) comes to town on Feb. 19 before No. 11 Montana State-Northern visits on Feb. 21. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m. (MT) and tickets are available at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.