GUNNISON, Colo. --- The eighth-ranked Western Colorado women's basketball hosts a key RMAC matchup against Colorado Mesa 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Paul Wright Gym.

MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
Western is coming off a convincing 74-40 win on the road at UCCS on Thursday that saw the Mountaineers score the first 21 points of the game and led 23-1 after the first quarter. Hannah Cooper and Mikaela Parker led the Mountaineers with 15 points apiece with Cooper adding six rebounds and four assists and Parker adding four rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Jessie Erickson als hit double figures with 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Western is the top scoring team in the RMAC at 73.5 points per game while it is third in the conference in points allowed at 60.5 points per game - giving the Mountaineers a scoring margin of plus-13.0 points per game - second in the RMAC (to CMU) and 23rd in the nation. The Mountaineers lead the RMAC and are fifth in the nation in 3-point percentage (40.6) and are second in the conference and 14th in Division II in field goal percentage (45.9).

Western features three of the top 15 scorers in the conference in Cooper (16.3 - sixth), Samantha Coleman (13.7 - 11th) and Emmery Wagstaff (13.1 - 15th). Parker is just two points short of averaging double figures at 9.8 per game while Jessie Erickson is averaging 7.7 points per contest. Cooper leads the team in assists at 4.4 per game (fourth in the RMAC) while Erickson is seventh in the conference at 3.3 assists per game. Parker is sixth in the RMAC at 1.0 blocks per game while Cooper and Coleman are tied for 12th in the RMAC in steals at 1.5 per contest. 

Wagstaff and Coleman are both in the top 25 in the country in 3-point percentage with Wagstaff leading the conference and is seventh in the nation at 54 percent while Coleman is 25th in the nation and fourth in the RMAC at 45.1 percent.

COLORADO MESA HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The Mavericks bounced back from a home loss to Westminster last Tuesday by going on the road and defeating South Dakota Mines 61-57 on Friday - thanks to outscoring the Hardrockers 17-6 in the fourth quarter. Natalie Bartle led the Mavs with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Valentine Desreumaux had a team-high 13 rebounds to go along with nine points.

CMU ranks third in the RMAC in scoring at 69.1 points per game while it is second in points allowed at 54.6 - leading to a scoring margin of plus-14.5, tops in the conference. The Mavs rank in the top 10 in the nation in points allowed (ninth), field goal percentage defense (ninth - 32.8) and turnovers per game (seventh - 11.5).

Bartle leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game to while Daniella Turner (who hasn't played since Jan. 9) is averaging 15.0 points followed by Kylyn Rigsby at 14.3 points per game. Rigsby is second in the RMAC in 3-pointers attempted (107) and third in 3-pointers made (37). The Mountaineers also feature the top shot blocker in the RMAC in Kelsey Siemons (1.5 per game) as she's also averaging 9.4 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game.

LAST SEASON VERSUS COLORADO MESA
The Mountaineers and Mavericks split their games last season with CMU winning 44-36 on Dec. 20, 2019, in Grand Junction and Western winning at home 59-52 in each teams' regular-season finale Feb. 28 at Paul Wright Gym.

WESTERN COLORADO NOTES

- MOUNTAINEERS MOVE UP TO NO. 8 IN MEDIA POLL, DEBUT AT NO. 14 IN COACHES POLL (RELEASE)
Western moved up one spot to No. 8 in the D2SIDA Division II Media Poll while the Mountaineers debuted at No. 14 in the WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches Poll - both released last Tuesday.

Western - 9-1 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 receiving votes in both polls while Colorado Mesa is receiving votes in the coaches poll.

- S. COLEMAN SITS IN SECOND ON MOUNTAINEER ALL-TIME 3-POINT LIST, CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS
Senior Samantha Coleman with her 177 career 3-pointers sits fourbehind 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 966 points - which is ninth on the all-time scoring list at Western.

- WESTERN SETS NEW MARK FOR BEST UNDEFEATED START IN PROGRAM HISTORY, EQUALS BEST ONE-LOSS START
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 9-1 are tied with the 1980-81 team with 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 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 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 61 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 50 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 is at 99 wins - one 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	9-1	8-1
OVERALL	----	99-89	80-71
AT WESTERN	----	61-57	50-47
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.