GUNNISON, Colo. – Western Colorado University women's basketball returns to postseason play this Tuesday for the first time in seven years. The Mountaineers travel to Salt Lake City, Utah as the seventh seed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference / Under Armour Tournament. The RMAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup between Western and Westminster College is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in Behnken Field House.
 
Tuesday will mark Western's fifth RMAC Tournament berth in program history. This year's Mountaineer women's basketball team won 12 conference games, which ties for second best in school history. The 16 overall wins is tied for the fifth most in the program's history.
 
Western (16-10, 12-10 RMAC) relied heavily on its defensive prowess to make the postseason. The Mountaineers are holding teams to just 56.3 points per game, which ranks second best in the conference and 21^st in Division II.
 
The Mountaineers have forced more turnovers than any other RMAC school, at 112 or 17.04 per game.
 
Helping lead Western's defense is Tammarrah Gothard. The senior leads the conference in steals with 66 and steals per game at 2.54. Gothard also is second in the RMAC when it comes to assist to turnover ratio at 1.81. Gothard has 105 assists this season, which is the eighth most by a Western player in a single season.
 
Conversely, Westminster (19-7, 17-5 RMAC) made the tournament as the two seed utilizing a high-powered offense. The Griffins rank second-best in the RMAC, averaging 68.1 points per game. The team's 45.1 percent field goal shooting percentage is top in the conference.
 
The Mountaineers will look to defend the Griffins without fouling as Westminster leads the conference and is 11^th in the nation when it comes to free-throw percentage. The Griffins are making 77.3 percent of free-throw attempts this season.
 
Westminster's Olivia Elliss is making 56.9 percent of her field goal attempts this season to lead the RMAC and rank 17^th in Division II.
 
Elliss is one of three Griffins averaging double figures in scoring. Denise Gonzalez leads the team with 13 points per game, while Elliss adds 12.8 and Hunter Krebs contributes 12.1 points on average.
 
Samantha Coleman paces the Western offense, averaging 11.5 points per game. Coleman has made 40.9 percent of her three-point field goal attempts this season, which ranks second best in the conference and 28^th best in Division II. Her three-point field goal shooting percentage currently ranks fourth all-time in a season by a Western player. Coleman's 52 made three-pointers this season is tied for eighth most in a single season at Western.
 
The Mountaineers enter Tuesday night's game on a two-game losing streak. The Griffins are riding a three-game losing streak.
 
Western is 3-9 all-time against Westminster. The Mountaineers have yet to defeat the Griffins since they joined the RMAC in 2015-16. The last Western win at Westminster came during the 2000-01 season.
 
The semifinals of the RMAC Tournament will be played on Friday, March 8 with the finals the following day on March 9. The semifinals and finals will be hosted by the highest remaining seed following Tuesday's quarterfinal games.
 
Those unable to attend Tuesday's RMAC Tournament game can follow Western live by clicking the links provided above.