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Of all the impressive numbers that define the Westminster College women's basketball team, this might be the most remarkable: 5-foot-7.
Senior guard Tia Pappas led the Griffins in rebounding in Frontier Conference play, averaging 7.9 boards as Westminster went 13-1. The No. 4-ranked Griffins host Montana Tech at Behnken Field House in the conference tournament semifinals Friday (7 p.m.), with a chance to give coach Shelley Jarrard her 100th victory in four seasons.
Westminster would stage the championship game Monday night. The Griffins are giving the conference tournament their full attention, but they've spent this season thinking about the NAIA Championships in Missouri later this month.
That explains the presence of men in the building this week. As much as the Griffins respect the competition and fundamental play in the Frontier Conference, they know the level of athletic ability will rise considerably at nationals.
Remembering a quarterfinal game against Wiley College of Texas last March, Pappas said, "It's like we were playing five guys. It's just crazy."
To simulate such aggressive, full-court defense, Jarrard brought in some male practice players. The advanced level of preparation should help an experienced team that has dominated its conference and wants to do more at the national level.
Because of that focus, the Griffins "don't have drama" in team interactions, Pappas said. What they do have is their own brand of solid defense, plus balanced scoring that's driven by 3-point shooting.
Westminster (23-2) leads the NAIA in scoring defense, allowing 47.6 points. The Griffins are No. 1 in 3-point shooting at 38.2 percent and Pappas would lead the nation individually at 48.6 percent, except her 74 attempts in 25 games are not enough to qualify.
The irony is Pappas long ago discovered that rebounding was her specialty, never mind that she's 5-7, because she was not always a great shooter. "She's just a relentless player," Jarrard said. "She just never stops playing. She has an inner drive that's just hard to match."
Pappas, from Carbon High School, leads the Griffins with a 13.4 scoring average, followed by senior guard Amy Krommenhoek (12.4) of American Fork. Other key players include Amanda Hacking of Riverton, Shelby Ellsworth and Ali Winters.
Jarrard, a longtime assistant to Elaine Elliott at the University of Utah, most recently worked at Salt Lake Community College before coming to Westminster in 2011. Elliott now assists Jarrard, along with former Westminster player Jenteal Jackson, and the results have been remarkable. Jarrard's record is 99-17. The Griffiins will be going to the NAIA Championships for a ninth straight year and they're likely to receive one of the four No. 1 seeds in the 32-team event that begins March 18 at Independence, Mo.
Before then, the Griffins figure to play two home games. After facing Montana Tech in Friday's semifinals, they would meet Montana State-Northern or Great Falls in Monday's title game.
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