SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 Westminster women's basketball team is playing host to the championship game of the Frontier Conference Tournament on Monday when they welcome No. 10 Montana State-Northern to the Behnken Field House at 7 p.m. (MT).
 
Westminster, the tournament's No. 1-seed, advanced to a fourth-straight title game by defeating sixth-seeded Montana Tech on Friday night. They are the two-time defending champion of the tournament. MSU-Northern is the No. 2-seed and they reached Monday's game by defeating No. 3-seed Great Falls (Mont.), 73-59, in Havre, Mont., on Friday. The Griffins are 1-3 all-time against the Sky Lights in the conference tournament.
 
Tickets: Tickets for the semifinals are $8 for adults and $6 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 enters the game at 24-2 overall this season and they won a seventh-straight Frontier Conference title by going 13-1 in league play. The Griffins have won 14 consecutive games overall and seven-straight at home. They are 11-1 at home this season and have won six-straight in the Behnken Field House.
 
Offense Notebook: The Griffins average 65.46 points per game on the year and they have scored at least 70 points in a game seven times on the year. The team shoots 43.6 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 7.46 treys per game – 10th in the NAIA – while posting 15.42 assists per game which ranks 20th nationally.
 
Defense Notebook: Westminster leads the NAIA in scoring defense by holding the opposition to 48.42 points per game. They have held 16 opponents under 50 points during the year – including nine in conference play – while placing sixth in the NAIA by holding the opposition to 34.4 percent shooting. The Griffins force 15.58 turnovers per game with an average of 8.15 steals per contest.
 
Leaders: Tia Pappas leads three players that are scoring in double figures at 13.19 points per game. She is shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 48 percent from three. Amy Krommenhoek is scoring 12.77 points per night while leading the team with 130 assists and 60 steals. Shelby Ellsworth is posting 11 points in the 15 games she has played while Alli Winters is adding 9.85 points per game. Amanda Hacking leads the team with 196 rebounds – 78 offensive – and Mika Pinner has a team-best 28 blocked shots.
 
Inside the Numbers: The Griffins have gone 19-0 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 23 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 20 times and going 20-0 in those games.
 
Looking Back: Westminster reach a fourth-straight Frontier championship game with a 72-65 win over Montana Tech on Friday night in the Behnken Field House. The Griffins got 22 points from Krommenhoek – her third-straight 20-point outing – with Ellsworth adding 17 and Pinner getting 10. Westminster held Tech to 35.5 percent shooting in the second half and they scored 20 points from 16 turnovers.
 
Postseason History: The Griffins play in this year's conference tournament as the two-time defending champion. They are 14-13 all-time in the Frontier Tournament, including a 12-4 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. The Griffins are 24-21 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 36-2 mark in the Behnken Field House. The .947 winning percentage during that time is the best three-year home mark in school history. They have won seven-straight home games overall and five-straight in the conference tournament. The Griffins are 147-57 (.721) all-time at home and 113-22 (.837) in the Behnken Field House.
 
Milestone Victories: 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 301-185 while posting nine-straight 20-win seasons. Head Coach Shelley Jarrard earned career win No. 100 with the Griffins 67-43 win at Lewis-Clark State on March 26. Jarrard ranks second in school history for wins (102) behind the 146 by JD Gustin, and she holds the record with a .850 winning percentage.
 
Live by the Long Ball: Westminster currently leads the NAIA by shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc. They place 10th in the country by making 7.46 threes per game and their 194 total threes place 19th 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 leads qualified Griffins by shooting 46.6 percent from deep to rank second on the NAIA and she has made 15 of her last 26 attempts from beyond the arc.
 
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 48.42 points per game and they have held 14 opponents to 46 points or less. Westminster holds the opposition to just 34.4 percent shooting – sixth in the NAIA – while allowing just 29.8 percent from deep to place 46th in the NAIA.
 
Pappas for Player of the Year: Pappas is a top candidate 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 13.19 points per game while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 48 percent from deep. Pappas has grabbed 183 rebounds with 71 on the offensive end while posting 85 assists and 48 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 13.2 scoring average this season is a career high. She enters Monday with 1,053 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 12.77 points per game and she has been in double figures 19 times. Krommenhoek has scored at least 20 points in each of the past three games which is the longest such streak by a Griffins since Feb. of 2010. She ranks 11th in the country by handing out 5.00 assists per game while sitting fourth with her 3.25 assist-to-turnover ratio. Krommenhoek leads the Frontier at 2.31 steals per game to sit 27th in the NAIA.
 
Looking Ahead: Westminster will look forward to the release of the 32-team bracket for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship. The field will be unveiled live at NAIANetwork.com on Wednesday at 5 p.m. (MT) and the tournament will begin with first round games on March 18-19. The entire tournament will be played in Independence, Mo. at the Independence Events Center.