SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 4 Westminster women's basketball team won a third-straight Frontier Conference Tournament championship with a 61-61 win over No. 10 Montana State-Northern on Monday night in the Behnken Field House.
 
Westminster (25-2) completed the sweep of regular season and tournament titles in the Frontier Conference for the third consecutive season. With the win, the Griffins secure an automatic berth to the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship that starts on March 19 in Independence, Mo.
 
While the Griffins led for the final 35:51 of the game, Montana State-Northern (27-5) didn't make it easy. Westminster took the 10-9 lead on a Tia Pappas three that started 9-3 run. The lead hovered around six points for the next eight minutes before Alli Winters capped a 10-4 spurt that put the Griffin in front 30-21 – their largest lead of the half – with a triple at the 5:18 mark.
 
Pappas hit a layup with 31 seconds before halftime to send the Griffins into the break leading 36-29. That basket was the first of nine-straight points for the team overall as Westminster opened the second half with four straight buckets. Shelby Ellsworth finished the burst with a layup that had the advantage to 13 with 18:24 to play.
 
Ajha Edwards led Northern on a 10-4 run over the next 6:48 with six points. Amy Krommenhoek made a three to answer to burst to complete a 6-0 run by the Griffins and out them back in front, 52-39, with 8:32 remaining. Taylor Cummings completed a three-point-play and then Edwards hit consecutive treys during an 11-0 run by the Sky Lights to get them back within 52-50 with 6:19 on the clock.
 
Five straight points from Krommenhoek with a free throw by Katie Richens had the lead back to six at the 1:44 mark. The Griffins then went 3-of-6 at the foul line while Northern got a Jacey Thompson three to get within 60-58 with 31 seconds to play. Pappas then finished a breakaway layup on the next possession and Ellsworth blocked a three-point attempt to keep the lead at four. After Ellsworth missed two free throws, Thompson made a three as time expired for the final deficit.
 
Westminster shot 50 percent from the field in the game, but they struggled at the foul line by making 45.5 percent. They were 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and also scored 26 points in the paint. The Griffins held Northern to 35.8 percent shooting and just 30.3 percent in the second half while forcing 12 turnovers.
 
Pappas led three Griffins that scored in double figures with 16 points. She was 6-of-9 form the field and she grabbed four rebounds with three assists and two steals. Krommenhoek finished with 13 points and Mika Pinner added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
 
Edwards recorded 22 points and 14 rebounds – six offensive – before fouling out with 3:53 to play. She was 7-of-16 from the field with two blocked shots and seven turnovers. Taylor Cummings added 15 points and six assists while Natalee Faupel added 10 points. The Sky Lights had a 38-30 edge on the glass and they scored 15 points from 13 offensive rebounds.
 
The Griffins will now look towards their ninth-straight appearance at the NAIA National Championships. The 32-team field will be released on Wednesday with the bracket show airing on NAIANetwork.com at 5 p.m. (MT).