Westminster basketball: Women open league play with 73-35 win

SALT LAKE CITY — The fifth-ranked Westminster College women’s basketball team opened Frontier Conference play with a 73-35 win over Montana Western on Saturday night in the Behnken Field House.

Westminster improves to 7-1 overall this season and 1-0 in conference with the team’s seventh straight victory. The loss drops Montana Western to 5-5 and 0-1.

The Griffins shot 49.1 percent from the floor in the game and made 10 threes. They finished with 22 points in the paint and turned nine offensive rebounds into seven second chance points. The defense limited UMW to 30.4 percent shooting and just 2-of-16 from beyond the arc. Western committed 19 turnovers, which resulted in 25 Griffin points.

Allie Eastman led six Griffins in double figures with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The senior made three triples and also had three steals. Tia Pappas finished with her first career double-double going for 12 points and 11 rebounds. Pappas shot 5-of-8 from the floor and added three steals and one assist. Cyndey Tibbitts had 11 points and six rebounds while Nicole Yazzie, Kelsi Wells and Brooke Larsen scored 10 each.

Sammi Bignell led the Bulldogs with eight points and two assists. Alecia Wilson and Kaci Matthies had six points apiece.

Westminster returns to action Friday when the team travels to Irvine, Calif., to face Concordia (Calif.) at 6:30 p.m.