SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 Westminster women's basketball team will spend the weekend in Mont. for a pair of Frontier Conference games to begin the second half of the league season. Westminster begins the trip on Thursday at Rocky Mountain (Mont.) in the Fortin Center. The trip concludes on Saturday at No. 17 Carroll (Mont.) form the Carroll P.E. Center. Both games will begin at 5:30 p.m. MT.
 
On the Web: Both games of the trip will be shown live on the web through each school's athletic You Tube channel. There will also be live stats available for the game at Carroll. Links for all live features can be found at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
Griffin Fast Break: Westminster begins the week at 16-2 overall and atop the Frontier Conference with a 6-1 mark in league games. They have won six straight overall and 13 consecutive road games. The Griffins have defeated 31 straight unranked opponents overall and won six straight road games over ranked opponents. They are 14-0 this season when leading at halftime and 13-0 when scoring at least 60 points.
 
Offense Notebook: The Griffins average 65.78 points per game on the year and they have scored at least 70 points in a game five times on the year. The team shoots 44.6 percent from the field to rank ninth in the NAIA and they sit third in the country by making 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins make 7.44 treys per game – 13th in the NAIA – while posting 16.11 assists per game which ranks 13th nationally.
 
Defense Notebook: Westminster leads the country in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 47.72 points per game. They have held 12 opponents under 50 points during the year, including four of the last five, while placing seventh in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 34.1 percent shooting. The Griffins force 15.83 turnovers per game with an average of 8.06 steals per contest.
 
Leaders: Tia Pappas has scored a team-high 255 points on the season and she is averaging 14.17 points per game. She also leads the NAIA by shooting 50.8 percent from beyond the arc with 30 made threes. Amy Krommenhoek has scored 223 points (12.39 per game) and she leads the team with 102 assists and 40 steals. Amanda Hacking has a team-best 136 rebounds and Mika Pinner leads the way with 17 blocked shots.
 
Looking Back: Westminster ran its winning streak to six straight by sweeping Montana Tech and then-No. 18 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in a pair of home games last week. Krommenhoek scored 19 points in the 60-44 win against Montana Tech. The team then made 14 threes and set a school-record by shooting 66.7 percent from three in an 89-40 decision against Lewis-Clark State. Five players scored in double figures in the win and they shot a season-high 61.4 percent from the field.
 
In the Polls: Westminster remained at No. 4 on Tuesday when the NAIA released the sixth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Griffins received 198 points to sit in the top-five of the NAIA poll for the 20th straight poll. They have now been ranked in a school-record 43 straight polls and 88 polls all-time.
 
Playing Ranked Foes: Westminster has played eight ranked teams on the season and they have gone 6-2 in those outings. They have won three straight against ranked teams and are 4-1 against those teams away from home. With No. 17 Carroll on the docket this week, the Griffins will have faced at least one ranked opponent in five of their last six game weeks. The Massey Ratings rank the Westminster schedule as the second-toughest played to date.
 
Among the Best: Going back to the start of the 2011-12 season, Westminster has amassed 94 wins and recorded a .839 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 .915 and Oklahoma City at .913 have a better winning percentage over the past four seasons. This season, the Griffins rank seventh in winning percentage (.882) and tied for 18th with their 16 victories.
 
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 357 3-point field goals this season which accounts for 36.9 percent of their total shots taken. They rank 13th in the NAIA by making 7.44 per game and they sit third at 37.5 percent from distance. They have made at least six treys in 13 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 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 47.72 points per game and they have held 11 opponents to 46 points or less. The opposition shoots 34.1 percent from the floor and 27.6 percent from three to rank Westminster seventh and 24th 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 15.83 turnovers per game which results in 17.1 points per game. That is 1.08 points from every turnover and accounts for 26 percent of their total scoring average. Westminster ranks 25th in the NAIA with a 3.17 turnover margin and they are allowing 11.8 points per game from their own miscues.
 
Sharing the Rock: This year's team has been sharing the basketball and they currently sit 13th in the NAIA by averaging 16.11 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 67.1 percent of their total field goals this season. Krommenhoek leads the team and ranks sixth in the country at 5.67 assists per game.
 
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 14.17 points per game. She leads the nation by making 50.8 percent from beyond the arc with an average of 1.67 threes per game. Pappas distributes 3.56 assists per game to rank 47th in the country while sitting 43rd nationally with 2.06 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 965 career points, having scored 255 points this season. She would need to average 4.38 points per game through the remaining eight 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 1,078 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 12.39 points per game and she has been in double figures 14 times. Krommenhoek ranks fifth in the country by handing out 5.67 assists per game while sitting fourth with her 3.52 assist-to-turnover ratio. She makes 37.8 percent from three – 35th in the country – and she is 25th in the NAIA by making 2.33 treys per game. The senior grabs 2.22 steals per game to sit 34th in the NAIA and her 40 total steals are 44th-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 45.3 percent from three on the year to rank seventh in the NAIA and she averages 2.17 made threes per outing to sit 41st nationally. Winters is averaging 9.1 points per game during the season while distributing 2.50 assists. She is the Westminster all-time leader in 3-point field goal percentage by making 49.5 percent from deep over the past two seasons.
 
Looking Ahead: Westminster will open a three-game home stand on Feb. 14 when they welcome Montana Western to the Behnken Field House. The game has an early start time of 2 p.m. MT and tickets are available by visiting WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.