GUNNISON, Colo. --- The No. 7 Western Colorado women's basketball team hosts a pair of teams riding into the weekend win streaks as the Mountaineers face Regis 5:30 p.m. Friday and Colorado School of Mines 5 p.m. Saturday at Paul Wright Gym.

The Rangers enter the game having won three games in a row and the Orediggers head to Fort Lewis on Friday having won six games in a row while Western enters the weekend on its own five-game winning streak.

MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
Western won its fifth game in a row on Tuesday after defeating Colorado Mesa 53-51. The Mountaineers led by 11 points at the half, only to see the Mavericks come back to take a one-point lead heading into the fourth. Western trailed 51-48 with less than two minutes remaining before scoring the games final five points and surviving two game-winning 3-point attempts by the Mavs. Hannah Cooper led the Mountaineers with 19 points while Mikaela Parker had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Samantha Coleman had 10 points and nine rebounds.

Despite scoring just 53 points on Tuesday, the Mountaineers still lead the RMAC in scoring at 71.6 points per game while they are third in the conference in points allowed at 59.6 per game. Western is also first in 3-point percentage (38.4 - 14th in the nation), second in field goal percentage (44.2) and third in field goal percentage defense (36.7).

Cooper remains sixth in the RMAC in scoring at 16.5 points per game while also averaging 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists (fourth in the RMAC), 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks per game - playing a team-high 33.6 minutes per contest. She's also in the top five in the conference and top 50 nationally in free throws made (58 - fourth in the RMAC, 25th in the nation), free throws attempted (66 - fifth in the RMAC, 45th in the nation) and free throw percentage (87.9 - second in the RMAC, 34th in the nation). Coleman is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game while shooting 41.7 percent from 3-point range (seventh in the RMAC). Emmery Wagstaff is third on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game while shooting an RMAC-best 50 percent from 3-point range (27-for-54) and grabbing 5.5 rebounds per game. Parker is also averaging double figures at 10.1 points per game while averaging 5.3 rebounds and a team-high 0.9 blocks. 

REGIS HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The Rangers head into Friday night having won three games in a row - including beating Adams State at home 75-46 on Monday. Whitney Jacob led four Regis players in double figures with 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Tashika Burrell had 15 points while Grace O'Neill and Morgan Smith had 10 points apiece.

The Rangers rank ninth in the RMAC in scoring (64.1) and are fourth in points allowed (61.9) as they rank sixth in point differential (2.2). Regis leads the RMAC in rebounds per game (43.1) and is outrebounding their opponent by an average of 7.0 rebounds per game - tops in the conference.

Jacob leads Regis and is fifth in the RMAC in scoring at 16.7 points per game while she leads the RMAC and is 15th in the nation in rebounding at 11.0 boards per game. Burrell is second on the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game along with 3.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists (second on the team) and a team-high 1.4 steals per contest. Erin Fry leads the team in assists at 2.9 per game (to go along with 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds).

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The Orediggers won their sixth game in a row last Saturday at home, beating Colorado Christian 69-40 behind 15 points from Denali Pinto. Sammy Van Sickle had six points and 12 rebounds while Ashley Steffeck had 10 rebounds and seven points.

CSM is tops in the conference in points allowed per game at 53.4 while scoring 65.9 per game - giving it a scoring margin of 12.5 points per game (second in the RMAC). The Orediggers are second in the RMAC in field goal percentage defense (35.1) and lead the conference in turnover margin at plus-7.31 per game - forcing 20.2 turnovers per game (tops in the conference) while committing 12.8 turnovers per contest (second fewest in the RMAC).

Pinto leads a balanced scoring attack at 13.3 points per game followed by Courtney Stanton (10.8), Steffeck (9.9), Van Sickle (7.3) and Liz Holter (7.0). Van Sickle leads the team in rebounding (6.9) while shooting 40.5 percent from 3-point range. Pinto leads the team with 23 3-pointers (shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc). Steffeck is second in the RMAC at 3.2 steals per game while Van Sickle is second in blocks per game at 1.3.

LAST SEASON VERSUS REGIS, EARLIER THIS SEASON VERSUS MINES
The Mountaineers went 1-1 versus Regis last season, falling on the road on Feb. 1, 56-52, and winning at home on Feb. 14, 73-57.

Earlier this season, Western traveled to Golden and defeated Colorado School of Mines 57-51 - one of only two defeats for the Orediggers. Cooper led Western with 20 points while Coleman had 15 pionts and Parker added 11. Stanton led Mines with 20 points.

WESTERN COLORADO NOTES

- MOUNTAINEERS MOVE UP TO NO. 7 IN MEDIA POLL, STAY AT NO. 14 IN COACHES POLL
Western moved up one spot to No. 7 in the D2SIDA Division II Media Poll while the Mountaineers remainied at No. 14 in the WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches Poll - both released Tuesday.

Western - 10-1 on the season - prior to this season hadn't been in the top 25 of either poll. The Mountaineers are the only RMAC school ranked in either poll, though Colorado School of Mines is sitting just outside the top 25 in both polls.

- S. COLEMAN SITS IN SECOND ON MOUNTAINEER ALL-TIME 3-POINT LIST, CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
Senior Samantha Coleman with her 179 career 3-pointers sits two 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 976 points - which is ninth on the all-time scoring list at Western.

- WESTERN SETS NEW MARK FOR BEST UNDEFEATED AND ONE-LOSS 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 10-1 after a win over Colorado Mesa at home on Feb. 9 have moved past the 1980-81 team for the best one-loss start in program history.

- ELEVATED SUCCESS FOR MOUNTAINEERS AT HIGHEST COLLEGIATE GYM IN THE WORLD SINCE 2019-20
The Mountaineers are 16-2 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, REACHES 100 CAREER WINS AS A HEAD COACH
Lora Westling even at just her fifth season at the helm of the Mountaineers has already cemented herself as one of the winningest coaches in program history. Her 62 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 51 RMAC wins is second in Western history, and only behind Hahn (62).

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 reached the 100-win mark this season with a win over Colorado Mesa on Feb. 9 at Paul Wright Gym.

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	10-1	9-1
OVERALL	----	100-89	81-71
AT WESTERN	----	62-57	51-47
AT IC	----	38-32	30-24

- 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.