SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 Westminster women's basketball team will host a Frontier Conference Tournament semifinal game on Friday against Montana Tech. The game will begin at 7 p.m. (MT) in the Behnken Field House with the winner advancing to the tournament championship game on Monday.
 
Westminster is the tournament's No. 1-seed and will play at home for every game they play in the tournament. Montana Tech, the No. 6-seed, upset third-seeded Carroll (Mont.) in the quarterfinals on Tuesday to advance to Friday's game. The Griffins swept the two regular season meetings and Friday marks the first time the two have ever met in the conference tournament.
 
Tickets: Tickets for the semifinals are $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. The tournament is property of the Frontier Conference and conference policy states that no passes or college ID cards are valid for tournament entry. Tickets are available online at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.
 
On the Web: Griffins TV will carry the game live with Mike Lageschulte (play-by-play) and Lance Barton (analyst) calling the action. Griffins TV is available online and on mobile devices and Rou players by using the Livestream app. There will also be live stats available for the game. Links for all of the live features are available at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
Griffin Fast Break: Westminster begins the postseason at 23-2 overall this season and they won a seventh-straight Frontier Conference title by going 13-1 in league play. The Griffins enter the week having won 13 consecutive games overall and six-straight at home. They went 10-1 at home this season and have won 35-straight games against unranked opponents.
 
Offense Notebook: The Griffins average 65.20 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 43.5 percent from the field to rank 12th in the NAIA and they lead the nation by making 38.2 percent from beyond the arc. The Griffins make 7.48 treys per game – 11th in the NAIA – while posting 15.44 assists per game which ranks 22nd nationally.
 
Defense Notebook: Westminster leads the NAIA in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 47.76 points per game. They have held 16 opponents under 50 points during the year – including nine in conference play – while placing fifth in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 34 percent shooting. The Griffins force 15.56 turnovers per game with an average of 8.16 steals per contest.
 
Leaders: Tia Pappas leads four players that are scoring in double figures at 13.36 points per game. She is shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from three. Amy Krommenhoek is scoring 12.40 points per night while leading the team with 128 assists and 58 steals. Shelby Ellsworth is posting 10.57 points in the 14 games she has played while Alli Winters is adding 10.08 points per game. Amanda Hacking leads the team with 116 rebounds – 75 offensive – and Mika Pinner has a team-best 25 blocked shots.
 
Inside the Numbers: The Griffins have gone 18-0 this season when they score at least 60 points in a game and 19-0 when grabbing more rebounds than the opposition. They are undefeated in 21 outings when leading at halftime and perfect in 22 games when the lead with five minutes remaining in regulation. Westminster has held every opponent below 50 percent shooting while committing fewer turnovers in a game 19 times and going 19-0 in those games.
 
Looking Back: Westminster completed the regular season by picking up road wins at Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Montana Tech last week. The Griffins had four in double figures – including 20 from Krommenhoek – and they cruised to a 67-43 win at LC State. Krommenhoek then scored 21 and Winters went 6-of-7 from beyond the arc to help the Griffins to a 65-51 win at Tech.
 
Postseason History: The Griffins enter this year's conference tournament as the two-time defending champion. They are 13-13 all-time in the Frontier Tournament, including an 11-4 mark in the Behnken Field House. Since the Frontier adopted the current format of the higher seeds hosting home games in 2009, Westminster has never played a road game in the tournament. This is the eight-straight year the Griffins will play in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Griffins are 23-21 all-time in the postseason, having gone 10-8 in games at the NAIA National Championship.
 
In the Polls: Westminster slid down one position to No. 4 in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on Tuesday. The Griffins received 228 points in the 10th regular season edition of the poll to drop from the position they held the previous two weeks. They extend the school-record streak of being ranked in 47-straight poll while spending the past 24 polls in the top-five.
 
Home Dominance: Since the start of the 2012-13 season, Westminster has compiled a 35-2 mark in the Behnken Field House. The .946 winning percentage during that time is the best three-year home mark in school history. They have won six-straight home games overall and nine-straight against unranked opponents. The Griffins are 146-57 (.719) all-time at home and 112-22 (.836) in the Behnken Field House.
 
Program Wins 300: The Westminster women's basketball program earned win No. 300 in program history with its 65-51 win at Montana Tech on Feb. 28. The Griffins have an all-time record of 300-185 while posting nine-straight 20-win seasons. They have an all-time winning percentage of .619 and that number rises to .792 since the start of the 2006-07 season. Head Coach Shelley Jarrard enters the postseason one win shy of 100 for her career. Jarrard ranks second in school history for wins (99) behind the 146 by JD Gustin, and she holds the record with a .853 winning percentage.
 
Live by the Long Ball: Westminster currently leads the NAIA by shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc. They place 11th in the country by making 7.48 threes per game and their 187 total threes place 20th in the country. The Griffins have made at least five treys in all but four games this season and they have gone for double-digit triples five times. Winters is the top shooting individual from beyond the arc by making 46.9 percent from deep after going 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) during last week's two games.
 
Getting Defensive: Westminster has established itself as one of the top defensive teams in the country over the past four seasons. This season, the Griffins lead the NAIA by allowing just 47.76 points per game and they have held 14 opponents to 46 points or less. Westminster holds the opposition to just 34 percent shooting – fifth in the NAIA – while allowing just 29.9 percent from deep to place 48th in the NAIA.
 
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 15.56 turnovers per game which results in 16.64 points per game. That accounts for 25.5 percent of the total points scored. Westminster ranks 17th in the NAIA with a 3.52 turnover margin and they are allowing 10.80 points per game from their own miscues.
 
Pappas for Player of the Year: Pappas is the front-runner for Frontier Conference Player of the Year as she currently ranks in the top-20 in the Frontier in 14 statistical categories. The senior leads the team in scoring at 13.36 points per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from deep. Pappas has grabbed 176 rebounds with 70 on the offensive end while posting 81 assists and 47 steals. She has scored in double figures 18 times during the year with four 20-point outings.
 
In the Club: With 14 points against Great Falls on Feb. 19, Pappas became the eighth player in school history to score 1,000 career points as a Griffin. Pappas has averaged 9.32 points per game during her career and her 13.4 scoring average this season is a career high. She begins the week with 1,044 career points and is on pace to finish sixth in school history in the category.
 
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 12.40 points per game and she has been in double figures 18 times. Krommenhoek ranks 10th in the country by handing out 5.12 assists per game while sitting third with her 3.37 assist-to-turnover ratio. She makes 38.1 percent from three – 28th in the country – and she is 27th in the NAIA by making 2.36 treys per game. The senior leads the Frontier by grabbing 2.32 steals per game to sit 28th in the NAIA.
 
Looking Ahead: Should Westminster win on Friday, they would host the Frontier Conference Championship Game on Monday at 7 p.m. (MT) in the Behnken Field House. The opponent would be the winner between No. 2-seed Montana State-Northern and No. 3-seed Great Falls (Mont.). Tickets for the game will go on sale Friday night following the game at WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.