GUNNISON, Colo. --- It's a premiere RMAC women's basketball matchup Friday in Grand Junction as Western Colorado - ranked No. 9 in the D2SIDA South Central Region poll - travels to take on Colorado Mesa - ranked fifth regionally - at 5:30 p.m. at Brownson Arena.

It's a pair of teams looking to remain undefeated in RMAC play as the Mountaineers - riding a six-game winning streak (the longest for the program since 2007-08) - and Mavericks - also on a six-game winning streak - are both 4-0, a half game behind Westminster in the RMAC standings.

MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THE WEEK | SEASON STATS
WCU picked up a pair of wins in their first two home games of the season on Friday and Saturday, defeating Chadron State 69-43 and MSU Denver 56-43 at Paul Wright Gym. In Friday's win over Chadron State, Hannah Cooper had 14 points, four assists and three rebounds while Jadyn Kanzler had 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks. In Saturday's win over the Roadrunners, Gabie Doud had a season-high 19 points and eight rebounds - going 4-for-7 from 3-point range - while Cooper had 15 points, five assists and four steals.

Western has had a convincing start to RMAC play - winning their first four games by an average of 19.8 points per game (tops in the RMAC for point margin) thanks to holding their conference foes thus far to 44.3 points per game and to 26.3 percent shooting from the field (both first in the RMAC). Despite the strong start in RMAC, the Mountaineers know there are still aspects to improve - one of which being turnovers as they are last in the conference at 21.5 turnovers per game in RMAC play.

Samantha Coleman continues to lead the Mountaineers in scoring at 11.4 points per game thanks to shooting 50 percent from 3-point range (22-for-44) while also averaging 4.0 rebounds. Cooper is second on the team in scoring at 8.9 per game while leading the team in assists (3.3) and tied for the lead in steals (1.3). Katie Dalton is averaging 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds while Taytem Coleman and Doud are each averaging 7.4 points per game.

COLORADO MESA HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The Mavericks - like the Mountaineers - swept MSU Denver (70-61) and Chadron State (73-41) to move to 4-0 in RMAC play. Daniella Turner had 23 points against the Roadrunners on Friday and 21 points on Saturday against Eagles - all off the bench - to earn RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Also like WCU, CMU has been dominant in starting RMAC play 4-0 - winning by an average of 18 points per game thanks to allowing 48.8 points per contest (both second in conference-only ranks in the RMAC behind the Mountaineers). The Mavericks sit in second in the RMAC in both steals (10.0 per game) and blocks (3.7) while they lead the conference in all games played in points allowed per game at 46.8.

Turner is an explosive scorer off the bench for the Mavs as she is averging 15.5 points per game in just 21.2 minutes per contest - hitting 43.8 percent of her 3-pointers (14-for-32). Kelsey Siemons is second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game and is shooting 50 percent from 3-point range (26-for-52) while averaging 4.5 rebounds and an RMAC-best 1.6 blocks. Sydni Brandon is the Mavs' senior point guard that is fourth in the RMAC in assists (4.6 - she averaged 8.5 per game last weekend) and leads the conference in steals (3.5) while averaging 6.1 points per game.
  MOUNTAINEERS ENTER D2SIDA WBB REGIONAL RANKINGS AT NO. 9 (DEC. 16)
The Western Colorado women's basketball team entered the D2SIDA regional rankings for the first time in some time as the Mountaineers are at No. 9 in this week's South Central Region poll released Monday. WCU is tied with Fort Lewis at No. 9 in this week's regional poll - the South Central Region is made up of the RMAC and the Lone Star Conference - with fellow RMAC teams Colorado Mesa (No. 5) and Westminster (No. 3) also making the rankings. Defending NCAA Division II national champion and undefeated Lubbock Christian tops the regional rankings.

WCU'S COLEMAN NAMED RMAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (DEC. 2)
Western Colorado's Samantha Coleman's record-tying 3-point performance Saturday and strong overall weekend was rewarded Monday as the junior was named the RMAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week.

Coleman tied a Mountaineer women's record with seven 3-pointers and had a career-high 25 points in a 78-53 victory over University of the Southwest on Saturday at the CMU Holiday Inn - Airport Thanksgiving Classic in Grand Junction. She's the fourth Mountaineer to hit seven 3-pointers in a game with it most recently done last season by Chandler Willis against Fort Lewis.

MOUNTAINEERS UPEND D-I WEBER STATE IN EXHIBITION
The Western Colorado women's basketball team got key performances from veteran Samantha Coleman and newcomer Hannah Cooper and combined it with a strong defensive showing as the Mountaineers defeated Division-I Weber State 58-49 on Wednesday night at Dee Events Center.

Coleman, an All-RMAC performer last season for WCU, scored a game-high 22 points, went 5-for-12 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds while Cooper, a freshman from El Paso, Texas, displayed her all-around game with 12 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and six assists to lead the Mountaineers. Combine that with a defensive effort that saw WCU force Weber State into 20 turnovers while holding them to 39.1 percent shooting.

MOUNTAINEERS PICKED TO FINISH SIXTH IN THE RMAC
Coming off its postseason appearance in seven years, the Western Colorado women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll released Tuesday.

The Mountaineers are coming off a 16-11 season (12-10 in the RMAC) that saw them reach the RMAC Tournament for the first time since 2012. WCU has nine players returning from that roster. In the poll, Western Colorado finished behind Colorado Mesa (215 points - nine first-place votes), Westminster (209 - five first-place votes), Colorad School of Mines (192 - one first-place vote), MSU Denver (180) and a single point behind Black Hills State (151) while finishing nine points ahead of seventh-place Regis.