The Westminster women's basketball team is home for the second-to-last time this season when they host a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. Westminster will face Western State Colorado on Friday before playing host to Colorado State-Pueblo on Saturday.
Both of the games will begin at 5:30 p.m. MT in the Behnken Field House. Tickets are available by visiting
WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.
3 THINGS>Westminster has gone 4-4 at home this season, splitting games during every home weekend
>The Griffins have won 56 consecutive games when leading with five minutes to play
>The Griffins are just 2-8 in the past 10 games with both wins coming at home
COVERING THE GRIFFINSBoth of this week's games can will be carried live on Griffins TV. Mike Lageschulte calls the action with Head Coach
Shelley Jarrard appearing on both the Griffins Pregame and Griffins Postgame Shows. Griffins TV is available online and is optimized for mobile devices in the Game Central portal available at
portal.stretchinternet.com/Westminster.
You can also follow the action of both games with live stats available at
sidearmstats.com/westminster/wbball.
FOLLOWING WESTMINSTER WOMEN'S BASKETBALLMake sure to like Westminster Griffins on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube for the latest news about the Griffins. Game updates are provided on Twitter by following @wc_griffins.
Fans can stay connected with Westminster women's basketball by following @westminster_womens_basketball on Instagram.
ABOUT WESTMINSTERWestminster will start the week at 6-11 overall and 3-10 in conference action. The Griffins are currently eighth in the Rocky Division standings and 13th in the RMAC overall standings. They have gone 4-4 at home this season.
The Griffins are scoring 57.3 points per game as a team and they shoot 38.5 percent from the floor. They average 6.2 made 3-pointers per contest and shoot 31.1 percent from beyond the arc. The team is allowing 60.8 points per night – sixth in the RMAC – with opponents shooting 39.2 percent from the field.
Denise Gonzalez is the Griffins top scorer at 10.6 points per game. She is shooting 36.7 percent from the floor and also leads the team with 58 assists and 34 steals.
Natalie Parsons ranks second on the team by scoring 10.2 points per game and with 46 assists.
Mika Pinner leads all Griffins with 100 rebounds and 31 blocked shots. She is fifth in the RMAC by blocking 1.8 shots per game.
Jessica Sorensen has pulled 92 rebounds with 50 of them coming on the offensive end.
LOOKING BACKWestminster continued its struggles on the road with a 71-58 loss at Chadron State last Friday. The Griffins shot just 38 percent from the floor and were outscored 42-26 in the second and third quarters combined.
Aubrie Vale scored 28 points – the most by a Griffin this season – and she set a school record by making all six of her 3-pointers.
On Saturday night, Westminster had just two points in the fourth quarter as they lost at Regis, 55-44. They were just 1 of 12 in the final period and finished the game shooting 38.8 percent. Vale scored a team-high 12 points in the loss while
Natalie Parsons added seven points and
Denise Gonzalez finished with six.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
•Western State Colorado – The Mountaineers will come to SLC with a 4-11 overall record and 14th in the RMAC with a 2-11 mark in league games. Western State is averaging 54.6 points per game – last in the RMAC – and they are giving up 66.7 per night. Taylor Long leads the team in scoring at 13.1 points per game.
•Colorado State-Pueblo – The Thunderwolves start the week at 15-4 overall and tied for second in the conference with a 10-3 mark in RMAC play. CSU-Pueblo are 5-3 since recording a 10-game winning streak. They rank third in the RMAC by allowing 57.3 points per game this season. Tuileisu Anderso is fourth in the league by scoring 15.2 points per game and Molly Rohrer leads the RMAC at 2.2 blocks per outing.
SERIES NOTESWestern State leads the all-time series with Westminster, 3-2, although the two teams haven't played each other since 2002. The teams have split two meetings in Salt Lake City with both being played in Payne Gymnasium. The Griffins have won two straight in the series.
Westminster will face CSU-Pueblo for the first time on Saturday.
500 GAMES PLAYEDWestminster played the 500th game in program history on January 2 against South Dakota Mines. The Griffins won 308 times in those 500 outings with nine 20-win seasons. This is the 17th season of women's basketball at Westminster and the program has gone 309-197 in that time to record a .611 winning percentage.
FRESHMAN SENSATIONDenise Gonzalez has taken over point guard duties from the start of the season and she currently leads the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game. That ranks 20th in the RMAC and she has scored in double figures 10 times. Gonzalez is sixth in the conference by averaging 3.4 assists per game while ranking 10th at 2.0 steals per game. She is one of two players in the conference to rank in the top-20 in scoring and top-10 in both assists and steals.
DEFENSIVE PRESENCEMika Pinner has recorded a team-best 31 blocked shots and has had multiple blocks in a game nine times. She currently ranks fifth in the RMAC by blocking 1.8 shots per game. Her 31 blocks are tied for fifth-most in a season in team history. Pinner is fifth in school history with 60 career blocks and her 1.30 blocks per game is on pace to establish a new school record.
IMMEDIATE IMPACTNatalie Parsons has been a focal point of the Griffin offense in her first season with the team. The senior transfer is scoring 10.2 points per game to place second on the team and she has scored in double figures eight times. Parsons has twice scored 20 points in a game, including a career high 24 at Dixie State on November 24. She also ranks second on the team with 46 assists and with 22 made 3-pointers.
LOOKING AHEADThe Griffins will spend the next two weekends on the road and will be in New Mexico for a pair of games next weekend. They play at New Mexico Highlands on February 5 and then visit Western New Mexico on February 6.
