The Westminster women's basketball team is set to spend the weekend in Colorado to play a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. The Griffins will begin this week's play on Friday at UC Colorado Springs at 5:30 p.m. MT. They close the weekend on Saturday at MSU Denver at 5 p.m. MT.
 
3 THINGS
>Westminster snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating South Dakota Mines on January 2
>The Griffins are currently tied for 12th in the RMAC standings
>Last Saturday marked the 500th game in program history with the Griffins going 308-192 (.616) all-time
 
COVERING THE GRIFFINS
Both of this weekend's game will be broadcast live on Griffins TV. The games are being produced by the home institution. Griffins TV is available online and is optimized for mobile devices in the Game Central portal available at portal.stretchinternet.com/Westminster.
 
Live stats will be available in the Game Central portal at UCCS and at sidearmstats.com/msudenver/wbball for the MSU Denver game.
 
FOLLOWING WESTMINSTER WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Make 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 WESTMINSTER
Westminster starts the week at 5-6 overall and 2-5 in RMAC games. They snapped a four-game losing skid – their longest since the 2004-05 season – with a 71-49 win over South Dakota Mines in their last outing on January 2. The Griffins are 1-3 in road games this season and 0-2 in road RMAC games.
 
The Griffins are scoring 58.4 points per game as a team and they shoot 38.9 percent from the floor. They average 6.1 made 3-pointers per contest and shoot 29.9 percent from beyond the arc. The team is allowing 58.5 points per night – fourth in the RMAC – with opponents shooting 37.4 percent from the field.
 
Natalie Parsons currently leads the Griffins in scoring at 11.6 points per game after scoring 34 points in two home games last weekend. She is shooting 40 percent from the floor and leads the team with 16 made 3-pointers. Denise Gonzalez averages 10.4 points per game while leading the team with 39 assists and 21 steals.
 
Jessica Sorensen leads the team with 64 rebounds and her 3.1 offensive rebounds per game ranks seventh in the RMAC. Mika Pinner has 62 rebounds and she leads the conference by blocking 2.2 shots per game.
 
LOOKING BACK
A sluggish start for the Griffins them in a hole as they fell to Black Hills State, 76-55, on Friday night. Westminster was outscored 24-11 in the first quarter and they dropped consecutive home games for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Black Hills State closed the quarter with a 14-2 run, including the final 10 points of the quarter.
 
The Griffins snapped their longest losing streak in eight years with a 71-49 win over South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on Saturday night. Westminster opened the game with a 14-3 run in the first 5:39 of action. After South Dakota Mines got back within 10, the Griffins closed the first quarter with 14 straight points to lead 31-7 after the first quarter. The 31 points are the most the team has scored in a quarter this season.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
•UCCS – The Mountain Lions enter Friday's game at 8-5 overall and 4-3 in the RMAC. They swept two road games last weekend and are 4-4 in home games this season. Brittany Hernandez leads the conference in scoring at 21.1 points per game and she is the current RMAC Offensive Player of the Week. UCCS leads the conference by scoring 73.8 points per game and they are allowing 67.9 points to the opposition.
 
•MSU Denver – The Roadrunners start the week at 6-7 overall and 4-3 in the conference. They had a four-game winning streak snapped with a loss at Fort Lewis last Saturday. MSUD has gone 3-2 at home this season and won two straight. They average 64.0 points per game and opponents are scoring 65.3 per contest. Hannah Stipanovich scores 15.1 points per game to rank third in the RMAC.
 
SERIES NOTES
UCCS leads the all-time series with the Griffins 1-0 after taking a 69-58 win in the Behnken Field House on December 12. Friday will mark the first time the teams have met in Colorado Springs.
 
The Griffins hold a 1-0 lead all-time against MSU Denver after winning 55-45 in Salt Lake City on December 11. They will play in Denver for the first time on Saturday.
 
FRESHMAN SENSATION
Denise Gonzalez has taken over point guard duties from the start of the season and she is currently second on the team in scoring while leading the Griffins in assists and steals. The freshman scores 10.4 points per game – 27th in the RMAC – and she has scored in double figures six times. She currently ranks fourth in the conference at 3.5 assists per game and 11th at 1.9 steals per game.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
Mika Pinner has recorded at least one block in eight of the team's games this season and she had multiple blocks in seven outings. The senior currently leads the RMAC at 2.2 blocks per game and is second 24 total blocks. Pinner was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on December 14 after recording eight blocks and four steals in previous weeks' two games. She begins the week fifth in team history with 53 career blocks and her 1.33 blocks per game would be a new school record.
 
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Natalie Parsons has quickly become the focal point of the Griffin offense in her first season with the team. The senior transfer leads the team by scoring 11.6 points per game – 15th in the RMAC – and she has scored in double figures six 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 26 assists and third with 13 steals.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Westminster is back in the Behnken Field House next weekend for two home games. They welcome Adams State to town on January 15 before facing Fort Lewis on January 16. Both games begin at 5:30 p.m. MT with tickets available by visiting WestminsterGriffins.com/tickets.