GUNNISON, Colo. --- The No. 21 Western Colorado women's basketball team will look to bounce back from just its second loss of the season as the Mountaineers host CSU Pueblo 5:30 p.m. Friday and Adams State 5 p.m. Saturday at Paul Wright Gym. No spectators are allowed at the games.

Western Colorado will celebrate seniors Jessie Erickson, Jadyn Kanzler and Mikaela Parker along with team manager Madi Archuleta following the Adams State game - and the event will be broadcast at GoMountaineers.com/live.

MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
Western split a pair of games last weekend at home, defeating Regis 71-65 on Friday behind 22 points from Emmery Wagstaff and 20 points from Hannah Cooper before falling to Colorado School of Mines on Saturday, 63-59, as cold shooting in the fourth (1-for-14 from the field) and a season-high 20 turnovers hurt the Mountaineers.

Western is now second in the RMAC in scoring at 70.6 points per game while it is third in points allowed per game at 60.3. The Mountaineers are still first in the conference and eighth in the nation in 3-point percentage at 38.5 percent. Western also ranks in the top 40 in the nation in field goal percentage (43.4 - 37th), field goal percentage defense (36.4 percent - 37th) and scoring defense (38th).

Cooper leads the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game while averaging 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Wagstaff is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game - hitting 48.5 percent of her 3-pointers (14th in the nation) - to go along with a team-high 5.9 rebounds per contest while Samantha Coleman is third in scoring at 13.0 points, is hitting 39.7 percent of her 3-pointers and is averaging 4.4 rebounds and a team-high 1.4 steals.

CSU PUEBLO HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The ThunderWolves after droppiing seven games in a row have won two of its last three - including this past week falling at Westminster 74-64 on Saturday and defeating Colorado Christian 70-51 on Tuesday. In the win, four ThunderWolves reached double figures with Aubriana Noti leading the way with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

CSU Pueblo is 10th in the RMAC in scoring at 61.1 points per game while allowing 66.1 points per game - eighth in the RMAC. The ThunderWolves rank fifth in the RMAC in blocked shots (3.64) and steals (8.43) per game.

Three CSU Pueblo players are averaging double figures in scoring and more than six rebounds per game in Sydni Williams (13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds), JaNaiya Davis (10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 3.2 steals and 1.1 blocks in an RMAC-high 38.3 minutes per game) and Noti (10.1 points, 7.1 rebounds).

ADAMS STATE HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The Grizzlies snapped a three-game losing streak on Tuesday, defeating Fort Lewis 70-55 in Alamosa. Laura Gutierrez led the Grizzlies with 18 points while Kayla Harris had 11 and Elaina Watson added 10. 

ASU is 12th in the RMAC in scoring at 54.6 points per game while allowing 66.5 per game - eighth in the RMAC. The Grizzlies are hitting 5.8 3-pointers per game (10th in the RMAC) and are last in the RMAC in rebounding margin at minus-12.0.

No ASU players is averaging double figures with eight players averaging 5.0 or more points per game - led by Gutierrez at 9.4 points per game. Kaitlyn Bell leads the team in rebounding (4.6) while Angeline Nageak is first in assists (2.6) and Harris is first in steals (2.4).

EARLIER THIS SEASON VERSUS CSU PUEBLO, LAST SEASON AGAINST ADAMS STATE
The Mountaineers defeated the ThunderWolves 83-73 in Pueblo on Jan. 23 behind 21 points from Cooper, 19 points from Coleman, 18 points from Erickson and 10 points apiece from Wagstaff and Parker. Davis led CSU Pueblo with 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, five steals and two blocks while playing all 40 minutes.

This will be the first meeting this season between Western and Adams State. Last season the Mountaineers swept the Grizzlies, winning at home 61-44 on Jan. 18, 2020, and in Alamosa 62-43 on Feb. 21, 2020.

WESTERN COLORADO NOTES

- S. COLEMAN BREAKS MOUNTAINEER ALL-TIME 3-POINT RECORD, CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
Senior Samantha Coleman on Saturday against Colorado School of Mines broke the Western Colorado women's basketball all-time record for 3-pointers in a career with 183 - the former 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 998 points - which is ninth on the all-time scoring list at Western.

- MOUNTAINEERS MOVE TO NO. 21 IN BOTH NATIONAL POLLS
After having its six-game win streak snapped, Western dropped to No. 21 in both the D2SIDA Division II Media Poll and in the WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches Poll - both released Tuesday.

Western - 11-2 on the season - prior to this season has never been in the top 25 of either poll. It reached a high of No. 7 in the D2SIDA media poll and No. 14 in the WBCA coaches poll.

- 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 17-3 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 63 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 52 RMAC wins is second in Western history, 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	11-2	10-2
OVERALL	----	101-90	82-72
AT WESTERN	----	63-58	52-48
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.