SALT LAKE CITY - On the heels of three-consecutive seasons in the top-three of the final regular season RMAC standings, Westminster women's basketball (1-3, 0-0 RMAC) begins its 2021-22 RMAC schedule this weekend as it travels to Denver to play MSU Denver (4-1, 0-0 RMAC) on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. (MDT) and Colorado Christian (3-3, 0-0 RMAC) on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. (MDT).
Game Info:
- This weekend's games were originally scheduled for Friday/Saturday, but were moved back in order to accommodate MSU Denver's hosting of the NCAA DII South Central Region Volleyball Tournament this week.
-Â All Westminster basketball games are available for FREE streaming on the RMAC Network.
- Viewers can watch live or on-demand online at rmacnetwork.com/Westminster or via the RMAC Network app, available on all major app stores.
- Live stats for both games will be available at westminstergriffins.com.
About the Griffins:
- Probable Starters:
    - G #1  Abby Mangum:
        - LAST WEEK: 16.5 PPG, 3.0 APG, 3.0 RPG, 6 STLS
    - G #5  Rae Falatea:
        - SEASON: 8.3 PPG, 2.8 STLS, 5 STLS
    - G #24 Ashley Greenwood:
        - SEASON: 18.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.3 APG
    - F #23 Sarah McGinley:
        - CAREER: 54 starts, 13.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, .837 FT PCT
    - F #42 Hunter Krebs:
        - CAREER: 101 starts, 13.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 124 blks, .835 FT PCT
- Westminster began the year with a seven-point win over Central Washington at a neutral site in Nampa, Idaho to begin the Jenteal Jackson era.
- The Griffins went 0-2 last weekend with an 83-71 loss at Central Washington on Friday night. On the same court, Westminster fell, 70-60, to Seattle Pacific on Saturday afternoon.
- Westminster made a season-high 30 field goals but also allowed a season-high 28 buckets in Friday's loss to Central Washington.
- The Griffins converted a season-high 15 free throws against Seattle Pacific on Saturday afternoon, going 15-of-19 (79 percent) at the charity stripe as a team.
- Westminster has outscored opponents 157-145 in the first and fourth quarters combined, but has been outscored 140-106 in the second and third quarters.
- The Griffins are averaging 21.25 PPG in the fourth quarter through the first four games but have trailed before entering the final period in each of the past three games.
Experienced Lineup:
- Westminster's experienced 2021-22 roster has appeared in 477 career games collectively with 253 career collegiate starts across the Griffins' bench.
- Hunter Krebs and Sarah McGinley both started their 100th career game in Westminster's season opener against Central Washington on Nov. 26.
- Krebs has made each of her 101 career starts for the purple and gold while McGinley made her first 49 starts at CCU where she was an all-conference performer for the Cougars.
- Westminster's 2021-22 roster includes three starters from the 2020-21 team that reached the NCAA Division II West Regional final.
Tipping-Off Conference Play:
- Westminster has won two of its last three conference openers but fell, 71-68, to Black Hills State in its first conference game of 2020-21.
- Westminster saw its first three scheduled conference games of 2020-21 postponed due to COVID-19 protocol and finally began the conference season on Dec. 12 against Black Hills State. The Griffins would have four more contests throughout the season canceled or postponed due to the pandemic.
- The Griffins are 1-2 in road conference openers since joining the RMAC back in 2015.
Griffins in the RMAC:
- Westminster has finished in the top three of the final RMAC standings in each of the past three years.
- The Griffins won four of their final five RMAC contests last season to finish in third place with a tiebreaker over MSU Denver.
About the Roadrunners:
-Â Probable Starters:
    - 2 Alex Carlton - 9.6 PPG, 12 assists, 8-of-16 3PT FG (50 percent)
    - 3 Kendra Parra - 5.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG
    - 11 Mya Jones - 7.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG
    - 23 Tosjanae Bonds - 5.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG
    - 31 Allie Navarette - 12.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG
- The Roadrunners were picked to finish third in the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll after a 12-6 season with a fourth-place conference finish last season.
- MSU Denver went 2-0 last weekend with wins over the same two opponents as Westminster.
- The Roadrunners defeated Seattle Pacific 60-55 before a resounding 76-54 win over Central Washington on Saturday night.
- MSU Denver's only loss of the season came in an 86-83 triple-overtime defeat at the hands of Texas Woman's College.
- MSU Denver owns a +11.4 rpg margin over its opponents but have also given up extra possessions with a -4.4 turnover margin per game.
MSU Denver Series History:
- Westminster has won the last three matchups after MSU Denver had won the previous three.
- The Griffins went 2-0 last season, winning two games on the road at MSU Denver.
- Westminster won each of the two games that have been decided by one possession including a one-point win in the last matchup on Jan. 16.
- MSU Denver owns the largest win in the all-time series, a 20-point win in Denver back in 2016.
About the Cougars:
- Probable Starters:
    - 1  Haley Hanson - 5.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG
    - 10 Agnes Paul - 9.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 16 offensive rebounds
    - 11 Lourdes Gonzalez - 9.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 8 assists
    - 13 Sydney Daniels - 5.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 17 assists, 8 steals
    - 14 Sophia Karasinski - 8.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG
- First-year head coach Diane Thompson takes over a team that finished 5-13 in the RMAC last season.
- Colorado Christian held Western Washington to 58 points in its loss on Saturday, a season-low for a Cougar opponent so far this season.
- CCU lost, 60-46, to top-ranked Lubbock Christian in its season-opener back on Nov. 12, before reeling off wins in its next three games.
- The Cougars beat Lynn Univ. (Fla.), Palm Beach Atlantic, and UT-Permian Basin, before their three-game winning streak was snapped by No. 13 Western Washington last Saturday.
- CCU was held to just four points in the first quarter and just 16 points in the first half in Saturday's loss to Western Washington.
Colo. Christian Series History:
- Westminster has won three straight and five of the last six matchups including a 23-point win last season.
- The Griffins have won each of the past three by 20 or more including a 30-point, 74-44 win, the largest all-time win of the series, back in Jan. of 2020.
- Westminster is 4-1 all-time on the road in Lakewood.
RMAC Standings (As of Nov. 30):
Up Next:
Westminster will host its home opener next weekend beginning with Chadron State on Fri., Dec. 10, followed by Black Hills state on Sat., Dec. 11. All Westminster women's basketball home games will tip-off at 5 p.m. at the Behnken Field House.
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