THE AGENDA
The Westminster women's lacrosse team opens the 2016 season this Saturday when they face Whittier College in Whittier, Calif. The season opener will begin at 12 p.m. MT / 11 a.m. PT from Newman Field at Memorial Stadium. The game begins the Griffins inaugural season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference as they are in the first year of the NCAA Division II membership process.
 
3 THINGS
>The 2016 season will mark the eighth season of men's lacrosse at Westminster and the first in the RMAC
>Westminster is 5-2 all-time in season openers
>This is the second straight season the Griffins will open with a road game
 
COVERING THE GRIFFINS
Saturday's game will not have any live video available. There will be live stats during the game with a link available at WestminsterGriffins.com/live.
 
All Westminster home games will be broadcast live on Griffins TV in the new Game Central portal at portal.stretchinternet.com/Westminster. Griffins TV is available online and is optimized for mobile devices.
 
FOLLOWING THE GRIFFINS
Make sure to like Westminster Griffins on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube for the latest news about the Griffins. For updates of the game action, make sure to follow @wc_griffins on Twitter.
 
ABOUT THE GRIFFINS
Westminster starts the 2016 season – the eighth season in team history – after finishing 2015 with an 8-3 overall record. The Griffins played seven games against NCAA D-II teams last season with a 4-3 record in those contests. They were 1-2 against teams from the RMAC. The 2016 squad returns 10 players from last season and they welcome in nine newcomers.
 
ON OFFENSE
Although the team loses its leading scorer from last season, they return six of the top eight gal scorers from 2015. Among that group is a pair of 30-goal scorers in Katie Adams (34) and Kira Heiden (32). Morgan Bakarich is also back after leading the team with 16 assists last season. With Abby Sebastian returning as well, those four players accounted for 56 percent of the team's points last season.
 
ON DEFENSE
The Griffins will have somewhat of a new look at the defensive end this season. Nicole Burgener is back for her senior season after starting 10 of the team's 11 games in 2015. The other four defenders on the current roster are all freshmen.
 
IN CAGE
The 2016 season will also see a change in goal for the Griffins after Makenzie Hekking started every game of the past four seasons for the team. Caitlyn Laffey was with the team in 2015 as a backup and the team welcomes Taylor Hekking – Makenzie's sister – to the roster this season.
 
STREAKING
Westminster starts the season with three players on some impressive scoring streaks. Kira Heiden enters 2016 having scored a goal in 25 straight games which is the second-longest streak in team history. Heiden has recorded a point in the past 26 games to rank fourth in team history. Katie Adams has scored in 11 consecutive games for the eighth-longest streak. Morgan Bakarich is eighth all-time with a point in 14 straight games and she begins the year with an assist in the last four games.
 
NEARING 100 POINTS
Kira Heiden begins 2016 seventh in school history with 89 career points. She needs 11 points to become just the sixth player in school history to score 100 career points. Heiden has scored 67 goals as a Griffin – seventh-most in team history – and she is eighth in school history with 22 shots.
 
HOLD OPPONENTS UNDER 10
The Griffins start the 2016 season having won 45 consecutive games when holding the opposition under 10 goals in a game. In the seven previous season they have only lost one time – 4-3 vs. Chapman on February 13, 2010 – when they hold the opposition under 10 goals. The Griffins have also won nine consecutive games when taking more shots than the opponent.
 
RMAC PRESEASON POLL
Westminster was picked to finish fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference according to a poll of the league coaches that was released on January 21. The Griffins received 22 points in the poll to place fifth in the eight-team poll. Lindenwood is the preseason pick to win the RMAC with 49 points and seven of the eight first-place votes. Lindenwood's Jordyn Constance was the Preseason Player of the Year.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
After Saturday's game, Westminster is off until March 6 when they play their first RMAC league game against Rockhurst in Kansas City, Mo. The Griffins will also play at No. 3 Lindenwood during the trip on March 8 in St. Charles, Mo.