GUNNISON, Colo. – Only three games remain in 2017 for the Western State Colorado University women's basketball team. Fortunately for Mountaineer fans, all three are at home and two will be played this weekend. The first comes against New Mexico Highlands University this Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. in Paul Wright Gym. Western will then host Colorado State University Pueblo at 5 p.m. on Saturday night.
 
Western (4-6, 1-3 RMAC) split last weekend's competitions against Adams State University and No. 20 Fort Lewis College. The Mountaineers defeated the Grizzlies 67-53 before falling to the Skyhawks, 54-68. Both games were played on the road.
 
The Mountaineer defense has been stifling opponents all season. Western has already recorded 90 steals in six games. This ranks Western tied for the second most steals in the conference. At this pace, the Mountaineers will have 252 steals by seasons end, which would be the most since the 2011-12 season.
 
Leading the defensive charge for Western is guard Tammarrah Gothard. The junior leads the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with 30 steals, averaging three steals per game.
 
On the offensive end, true-freshman Katie Dalton leads Western in scoring. Dalton is averaging 10.5 points per game, shooting 49.5 percent (45-of-91) from the field.
 
The Mountaineers are one of five teams tied in the RMAC standings with a 1-3 record. One of those teams is Friday's opponent, New Mexico Highlands.
 
The Cowgirls enter the weekend on a three-game slide. Last weekend NMHU suffered a 44-77 defeat at the hands of Westminster College.
 
NMHU (3-6, 1-3 RMAC) ranks 14^th in the conference when it comes to points scored and points allowed. The Cowgirls are scoring 50.9 points on average, while allowing opponents to score an average of 71.6 points per game.
 
Savannah Madrid-Andrews and Ari Baca are both averaging over 10 points per game for NMHU. Madrid-Andrews is scoring 11.3 points per game, while Baca is just behind at 11.1 points per game.
 
The Mountaineers have won the past four games against the Cowgirls, and have won every home game against NMHU dating back to the 2014-15 season.
 
On Saturday, the Mountaineers face CSU-Pueblo (6-4, 4-0 RMAC). The Thunderwolves enter the weekend with an unblemished 4-0 conference record. Before making their way to Gunnison, CSU-Pueblo will face Colorado Mesa University on Friday.
 
CSU-Pueblo is tied for the conference lead with the Colorado School of Mines.
 
The Thunderwolves are leading the RMAC in three-point field goal defense, allowing teams to shoot just 22.8 percent (46-of-202) from beyond the arc.
 
Molly Rohrer helps keep the CSU-Pueblo offense on track and leads the conference, scoring an average of 15.9 points per game.
 
Western's final game of 2017 comes against the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs on Dec. 30 at 5 p.m. in Paul Wright Gym. All admission is free of charge to the Dec. 30 games.
 
For those unable to make either of the games this weekend, fans can follow the game live online by clicking the links provided above.