SALT LAKE CITY – The fifth-ranked Westminster College Griffins jumped out to an early lead on the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team and never looked back en route to a 75-40 victory on Saturday at Behnken Field House.

The Griffins showed why they have been the dominant team in the Frontier Conference all season in their victory over the Warriors, owning nearly every phase of the game.

“They kind of pushed us around, and we didn’t push back,” LCSC coach Brian Orr said. “You have to give them all the credit in the world. They’ve hammered everyone in our league and we just didn’t have it tonight. They out-played us.”

The loss drops the Warriors to 6-18 overall and 3-7 in conference play with five games remaining in the regular season.

Westminster improved to 21-2 overall and 10-0 in the Frontier Conference with the victory, a win that saw the homestanding Griffins hold LCSC to just 14 field goals.

Tanis Fuller led the Warriors with nine points and eight rebounds in the game, but it was an uphill battle from the outset for LCSC.

Westminster took a 14-4 lead from the opening tip and never looked back, as Lewis-Clark State’s 23 turnovers prevented them from getting into any kind of offensive rhythm against the Griffins.

“When you turn it over as many times on the road as we did, you have almost no chance,” Orr said.

Nicole Yazzie had 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting to lead all scorers on Saturday, and two other Westminster players reached double figures.

Cydney Tibbits tacked on eight points, 12 rebounds, five assists and eight steals for the Griffins.

Annie Kane and Ornela Bacchini had eight points apiece for LCSC, which heads into Montana Tech next Saturday needing a win in the worst way.

The top six teams in the nine-team Frontier Conference advance to the postseason tournament, and the Warriors are a game out of the No. 6 spot after their loss on Saturday.

“Our backs are against the wall,” Orr said. “It’s one game at a time, but we have to hold down the fort at home and go into Tech next weekend with the mindset of, ‘This is it.’ It’s like game point on the playground. We have to play every play like it’s our last.”