GUNNISON, Colo. --- The Western Colorado women's basketball team faces fellow undefeated Colorado School of Mines 5 p.m. Friday at Lockridge Arena while the Mountaineers' game Saturday at Regis has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO FRIDAY | SEASON STATS
Western is coming off a 77-70 win over Division-I Air Force on Wednesday in an exhibition game for the Mountaineers (but not for the Falcons). Western didn't trail from the second quarter on, building a lead as large as 10 in the second half. Four Mountaineers reached double figures with Mikaela Parker and Samantha Coleman leading the way with 15 points apiece while Emmery Wagstaff had 14 points and Jadyn Kanzler had 13 points.

It's the second year in a row the Mountaineers defeated a D-I opponent in an exhibition game - beating Weber State last season.

Western moved to 3-0 this past weekend as the Mountaineers rallied from a slow start to defeat MSU Denver 67-51 in Denver on Saturday. Western struggled from 3-point range through three quarters - going 2-for-20 - as it trailed the Roadrunners 42-38 going into the fourth. But the Mountaineers got hot in the fourth quarter, going 7-for-9 from 3-point range to help them outscore MSU Denver 29-9 in the final period to come away with the 16-point win. Samantha Coleman led the way with 22 points - going 5-for-9 from 3-point range - while Wagstaff scored 15 points and added a team-high eight rebounds and Hannah Cooper had 12 points and six assists.

Also this week, coach Lora Westling was named the D-II Coach of the Week by WHoopDirt.com.

In the best start for the program since beginning 4-0 in 1980, the Mountaineers are outscoring opponents by 12.6 points per game and are shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line. Western has a plus-3.7 rebounding margin and a plus-3.4 turnover margin.

Cooper leads the team in scoring at 21 points to go along with 5.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. Wagstaff is second on the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game while averaging 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals while Coleman is third on the team at 14.3 points per game to go along with 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES HEADING INTO FRIDAY | SEASON STATS
The Orediggers head into the matchup having not played since beating Regis on the road 50-48 on Dec. 10 to move to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in RMAC play. Four players finished in double figures with Ashley Steffeck (who hit a go-ahead basket with two seconds left), Raven Herrera and Loralee Stock scoring 12 points apiece and Courtney Stanton adding 11 points as the rest of the team combined for three points. 

Mines' other wins this season have come over MSU Denver (75-49 in a non-RMAC game) and against South Dakota Mines (68-53).

Steffeck leads the team with 14 points to go along with 5.7 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 2.3 assists per game. Stanton is averaging 13.0 points per game, Denali Pinto is at 13.0 points per game while Sammy Van Sickle is averaging 10..5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 3.5 assists and 2.5 blocks per contest.

The Orediggers have been a force defensively in forcing 26 turnovers per game in the opening three games while committing just 10 per game.

LAST SEASON VERSUS COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
The Mountaineers defeated Mines 66-48 last season on the road (Dec. 6, 2019) with Katie Dalton leading the way with 16 points while Samantha Coleman had 11 points. Jessie Erickson nearly had a double-double with eight points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

WESTERN COLORADO NOTES

- WESTLING NAMED WHOOPDIRT.COM COACH OF THE WEEK (DEC. 14, 2020) - (RELEASE)
Western Colorado women's basketball coach Lora Westling was honored for her team's performance during the week of Dec. 6-13 by being named the WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week.

The week for the Mountaineers included an 84-69 win at home against Fort Lewis on Tuesday before defeating MSU Denver 67-51 on Saturday on the road thanks to outscoring the Roadrunners 29-9 in the fourth quarter. With the honor, Westling is now eligible for the WHoopDirt.com National Coach of the Year Award.

- COOPER NAMED RMAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (DEC. 9, 2020) - (RELEASE)
Western Colorado's Hannah Cooper was named the RMAC Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 9, 2020, after averaging 25.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in a pair of wins for the Mountaineers. This includes a career-high 34 points to go along with 10 rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal to help the Mountaineers defeat Black Hills State on Friday. She went 9-for-15 from the field and 15-for-16 from the free throw line. The 34 points is tied for the fourth-most in Western history and the most points a Mountaineer has scored in a game in 23 years while her 15 made free throws tied a school record.

This is Cooper's first career RMAC Player of the Week honor and Western's first since Samantha Coleman earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Dec. 2, 2019.

- MOUNTAINEERS IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGS, PICK UP VOTES IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
In the first regional and national rankings by D2SIDA this season, Western finds their name in both polls as the Mountaineers are No. 5 in the D2SIDA South Central Regional Rankings while they picked up votes in the Division II D2SIDA National Rankings.

- ELEVATED SUCCESS FOR MOUNTAINEERS AT HIGHEST COLLEGIATE GYM IN THE WORLD SINCE 2019-20
The Mountaineers are 13-1 at Paul Wright Gym - the highest collegiate gym in the world at 7,723 feet - since the start of the 2019-20 season.

- THAT'S THE WAY TO START THE SEASON ... RECORD NIGHT FOR COOPER
It was quite the start to the 2020-21 season for Hannah Cooper as the sophomore from El Paso, Texas, scored 34 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out five assists in the Mountaineers' win over Black Hills State on Dec. 4 in Paul Wright Gym. The 34 points is tied for the fourth most in Western history - behind Shannon Smart (41 versus Chadron State and 36 against Adams State - both during the 1992-93 season) and Laurie Nickolaus (40 against New Mexico Highlands in 1985-86). It's the most points a Mountaineers has scored in a game since Jen Knight scored 34 against NMHU in 1996-97. Cooper tied the school record for most free throws made in a game as well, going 15-for-16 from the line.

- S. COLEMAN MOVES TO THIRD ON MOUNTAINEER 3-POINT ALL-TIME LIST
Senior Samantha Coleman continues to move up the Western all-time 3-point list as with her five 3-pointers against MSU Denver on Saturday gives her 162 - good for third in program history. Coleman moved past Nikki Trujillo (160 - 2008-12) and is now seven behind Jen Knight (169 - 1993-97) for the No. 2 spot and is 19 behind the all-time record of 181 set by Brooke Pendergraft (2008-12). 

Coleman  also has a chance to become the ninth player in Western history to reach 1,000 career points as she has 872 points. She can reach the top 10 in all-time scoring if she can surpass Taryn Brennan's 958 points.

- DALTON MOVES TO SIXTH ON WESTERN ALL-TIME BLOCKS LIST
Senior Katie Dalton with  another block on Tuesday moved to fifth place on the Western all-time list with 68 - moving past Val Elliott. Sitting in fifth place is Paula Stumbaugh (1980-84) with 78. Dalton can move up several spots on the list this season, but likely won't reach the school and RMAC record of 319 set by Kris Ellerby (1984-88).

- WESTLING MOVING UP MOUNTAINEER WINS LISTS
As Lora Westling enters her fifth season at the helm of the Mountaineers, she's already cemented herself as one of the winningest coaches in program history. Her 55 career victories is fourth in program history, behind James Hahn (113 - 1982-92), Phile Swille (69 - 1978-82) and Latricia Trammell (65 - 2007-12). Her 45 RMAC wins rank third in program history - behind Hahn (62) and Trammell (48).

Westling currently has led the Mountaineers to back-to-back winning seasons - the first time the program has accomplished that since James Hahn did it in 1985-86 and 1986-87.

- COOPER BECOMES FIRST WESTERN RMAC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR IN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sophomore Hannah Cooper became the first Western Colorado women's basketball player in program history to earn RMAC Freshman of the Year since the conference started handing out the award in the sport in 1996-97. Cooper led the Mountaineers in assists (3.2) and steals (1.4), was second in scoring (9.7) and third in rebounding (4.3).

- MOUNTAINEERS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN RMAC (FULL STORY)
The Western Colorado women's basketball team was selected second in the RMAC Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Poll. The Mountaineers - who picked up three first-place votes - finished behind defending RMAC champion Colorado Mesa in the preseason poll - the Mavericks getting eight first-place votes and 189 points total - while Western finished two points ahead of Westminster, which picked up four first-place votes. Westminster was followed by Colorado School of Mines, Black Hills State and then South Dakota Mines - the same exact order of finish the top six teams finished in the RMAC in 2019-20.

- MOUNTAINEERS IN SEASON OPENERS
The Mountaineers are now 14-29 all-time in season opener after their win over Black Hills State on Dec. 4 at home - their first time starting the season at home since 2006-07 when the Mountaineers beat Chadron State, 80-54. The Mountaineers are 7-5 all-time when starting the season at Paul Wright Gym.