GUNNISON, Colo. --- The 13th-ranked Western Colorado women's basketball team hits the road to take on fellow top-10 regional team Black Hills State 4 p.m. Saturday in Spearfish, South Dakota.

The Mountaineers, who opened the season with an 81-74 win over BHSU, are ranked second in the D2SIDA South Central Regional Rankings while the Yellow Jackets are tied for ninth.

Western - who was ranked in the national top 25 for the first time in program history this week - was set to play Chadron State on Friday, but the game was postponed due to COVID-19 protocol. It's the second time this season a game against Chadron State has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
Western bounced back from its first loss of the season (a game where it was missing three players - including two starters) with a convincing 72-42 victory over Colorado Christian on Saturday. Emmery Wagstaff and Samantha Coleman paced the Mountaineers with 17 points apiece - with each draining three 3-pointers. Wagstaff added five rebounds, three assists two blocks and a steal in the contest. Defensively, it was the Mountaineers' lowest points allowed on the season thanks to holding the Cougars to 27.3 percent shooting from the field and forcing 17 turnovers.

The Mountaineers lead the RMAC in 3-point percentage (40.8 percent - 13th in the nation) and are fourth in 3-pointers made per game at 7.6. Western is also second in scoring (72.6) and scoring margin (11.0) and third in points allowed (61.6).

Western has three of the top 16 scorers in the conference in Hannah Cooper (17.3 - sixth), Coleman (14.9 - 14th) and Wagstaff (14.0 - 16th). Wagstaff is second in the RMAC in 3-point percentage (50 percent) while Coleman (48.6 percent) is third while Wagstaff ranks fourth in 3-pointers per game (2.7) and Coleman (2.6) is fifth. Cooper is tied for first in the RMAC in assists per game (5.6).

BLACK HILLS STATE HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The Yellow Jackets saw their six-game winning streak snapped on Saturday at Colorado Mesa, falling to the Mavericks 65-58. BHSU, which defeated CMU by 10 points earlier this season at home, was within three points at 61-58 after a Danica Kocer 3-pointer at the 2:30 mark in the fourth quarter - but wouldn't score again and fell by seven points. Racquel Wientjes led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points and seven rebounds while Kocer and Morgan Ham had 10 points apiece.

BHSU has won three of its six games this season by three points or less - resulting in a scoring margin of plus 3.6 this season, fifth in the RMAC (the Yellow Jackets are averaging 68.8 points and allowing 65.1 per game). BHSU will let it fly from beyond the arc as it leads the conference in 3-pointers per game at 9.8.

Wientjes leads the RMAC in scoring at 22 points per game to go along with 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 1.5 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. Ham is second on the team in scoring at 14.8 points per contest while Megan Engesser is third on the team at 11.0 points per game - including leading the RMAC in 3-point percentage at 54.3 percent. No other player for the Yellow Jackets is averaging more than 5.1 points per game.

EARLIER THIS SEASON VERSUS BHSU
The Mountaineers defeated the Yellow Jackets 81-74 in each teams' season opener on Dec. 4 thanks to a career-high 34 points from Cooper - the fourth-most points scored in program history. Western trailed by a point heading into the fourth quarter before outscoring BHSU 26-18 over the final period to come away with the win. Wagstaff added 15 points for Western while Taytem Coleman added 12. Ham had a team-high 27 points while Wientjes added 19 points.

WESTERN COLORADO NOTES

- MOUNTAINEERS NATIONALLY RANKED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY, NO. 2 IN REGIONAL RANKINGS (RELEASE)
Western hit a first on Jan. 12 as the Mountaineers were ranked for the first time in program history when they were voted No. 13 in the D2SIDA Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll. In the D2SIDA South Central Region rankings, the Mountaineers are No. 2 - only behind Lubbock Christian.

- S. COLEMAN MOVES INTO SECOND ON MOUNTAINEER ALL-TIME 3-POINT LIST, APPROACHING SCORING TOP 10
Senior Samantha Coleman continues to move up the Western all-time 3-point list as after three 3-pointers against Colorado Christian on Saturday, she now has 172 - good for for second - passing Jen Knight (1993-97) and her 169 3-pointers. Coleman sits nine 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 933 points. She can reach the top 10 in all-time scoring if she can surpass Taryn Brennan's 958 points.

- WESTERN SETS NEW MARK FOR BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
In defeating South Dakota Mines 79-72 on Jan. 4 , the Mountaineers went to 5-0 and set a new mark for the best undefeated start in program history - previously set by the 1980-81 team (4-0). While a Jan. 5 loss to the Hardrockers broke that streak, the Mountaineers at 6-1 will look to break that same 1980-81 team for the best one-loss start to a season in program history at 9-1.

- ELEVATED SUCCESS FOR MOUNTAINEERS AT HIGHEST COLLEGIATE GYM IN THE WORLD SINCE 2019-20
The Mountaineers are 15-2 at Paul Wright Gym - the highest collegiate gym in the world at 7,723 feet - since the start of the 2019-20 season.

- WESTLING MOVING UP MOUNTAINEER WINS LISTS, APPROACHING 100 CAREER WINS AS A HEAD COACH
Lora Westling in fifth season at the helm of the Mountaineers, she's already cemented herself as one of the winningest coaches in program history. Her 58 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 47 RMAC wins rank third in program history - behind Hahn (62) and Trammell (48).

Westling 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.

As a head coach overall, Westling is at 96 wins - four away from the century mark.

WESTLING'S HEAD COACHING CAREER

Season	School	Record	Conf.
2013-14	Illinois College	12-11	10-8
2014-15	Illinois College	14-10	11-7
2015-16	Illinois College	12-11	9-9
2016-17	Western Colorado	7-19	6-16
2017-18	Western Colorado	9-19	6-16
2018-19	Western Colorado	16-11	12-10
2019-20	Western Colorado	20-7	18-4
2020-21	Western Colorado	6-1	5-1
OVERALL		96-89	77-71

- 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.

- 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.

- DALTON SIXTH ON WESTERN ALL-TIME BLOCKS LIST
Senior Katie Dalton now sits in sixth place on the Western all-time blocks list with 68. 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).

- 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.