GUNNISON, Colo. – Following a four-game road trip, Western Colorado University women's basketball returns to the friendly confines of Paul Wright Gymnasium. The Mountaineers host Westminster College on Friday and Dixie State University on Saturday in a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference matchups.
 
Friday night will be a showdown between two of the top teams in the RMAC. Western (12-3, 8-3 RMAC) enters the weekend third in the conference standings, while Westminster (13-2, 11-0 RMAC) is tied for the conference lead.
 
Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be a white-out event. All fans attending are encouraged to support the Mountaineers by wearing white. Western women's basketball will also be distributing white t-shirts to the first 100 students through the gate.
 
Saturday's game against Dixie State (9-6, 5-6 RMAC) is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
 
Western enters the weekend having won five straight and nine of the last 10. The Mountaineers are out to their best start in 32 years, starting the season 12-3 for just the third time in program history.
 
The Mountaineer defense ranks second in the RMAC, holding opponents to an average of 53.8 points per game. That average also ranks 10^th best in all of Division II.
 
Western also ranks 24^th in the nation and second in the RMAC when it comes to field-goal percentage defense. The Mountaineers are holding teams to just 35.5 percent shooting from the field on average.
 
Offensively, Western is averaging 37.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc. That average is 22^nd best in Division II and second best in the conference.
 
Leading that distance-shooting attack is Samantha Coleman. Coleman is averaging 52.3 percent shooting from three-point range, which is best in the RMAC and third best in Division II.
 
Coleman also leads Western in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per game. The sophomore has reached double-figure points in eight consecutive games.
 
Point-guard Tammarrah Gothard is the conference's leading defensive rebounder, averaging six per game. Gothard also leads the Mountaineers in steals, assists and total rebounds.
 
This season Western is 11-0 when scoring 60 or more points, compared to a 1-3 record when scoring 59 or fewer points.
 
Friday will mark the 11^th game played between Westminster and Western. The Griffins have a 7-3 advantage in the series. The Mountaineers have yet to defeat Westminster since they joined the conference in 2015-16.
 
The Griffins are unbeaten in the RMAC this season, with their last loss coming on Nov. 20 to the University of Central Missouri.
 
The Griffins are averaging 71.6 points per game, which ranks second best in the conference. Westminster is the only conference school with a better three-point field goal percentage than the Mountaineers. The Griffins are averaging 37.5 percent shooting, just 0.3 percent better than Western.
 
Two Griffins are averaging 14 points per game. Denise Gonzalez leads with a scoring average of 14.5 points per game, while teammate Hunter Krebs is averaging 14.3 points.
 
Dixie State will face Colorado Mesa University on Friday before traveling to Gunnison for Saturday's game against the Mountaineers. The Trailblazers are tied for 10^th in the RMAC standings, having won three of their last four.
 
Saturday will be just the fifth game played between the two programs. DSU has won three of the first four. It will be the first time the two meet as members of the same conference.
 
DSU boasts the conference's highest scoring offense, averaging 73 points per game. However, the Trailblazers are allowing opponents an average of 67.9 points per game.
 
Three Trailblazers are averaging 10 or more points. Ali Franks leads the team with 12.9 points per game, while Mariah Martin adds 12.4 and Lisa VanCampen is contributing 10.1 points per game.
 
Friday's game will mark the first of four straight home games for Western. The Mountaineers have 11 games remaining in the regular season.