GUNNISON, Colo. --- The Western Colorado women's basketball team starts its postseason drive 6 p.m. Tuesday as the third-seeded Mountaineers host sixth-seeded South Dakota Mines in the opening round of the RMAC Tournament at Paul Wright Gym.

The Mountaineers are looking for their first RMAC Tournament win since 2012 when they reached the tournament finals as Western has lost three straight in the RMAC Tournament. Overall, Western Colorado is 2-10 in the RMAC Tournament.

MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
Western is looking to bounce back after losing on the road this last weekend at Colorado Mesa and Westminster.

The Mountaineers are still second in the RMAC in scoring at 68.2 per game, but will be looking for a better output after averaging 48 points per contest over the weekend. Defensively, Western is third in the RMAC in points allowed at 61.2 points per contest while teams are shooting 37.2 percent against the Mountaineers - fourth in the RMAC.

Hannah Cooper remains sixth in the RMAC in scoring at 16.7 points per game while she's fourth in the conference in assists at 3.8 per game. Emmery Wagstaff is second on the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game while averaging a team-high 5.9 rebounds and shooting 43.8 percent (46-for-105) from 3-point range. Samantha Coleman is averaging 12.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-high 1.5 steals per game. Mikaela Parker is averaging 9.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and a team-high 1.2 blocks (tied for fifth in the RMAC).

SOUTH DAKOTA MINES HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The Hardrockers fell to UCCS 57-50 on Friday in its regular-season finale as Bailey Johnson led South Dakota Mines with 10 points while Juneau Jones had nine points and 11 rebounds.

The Hardrockers are seventh in the RMAC in scoring at 65.4 points per game while allowing 62.2 points per contest - fifth in the RMAC. South Dakota Mines is 11th in the RMAC in turnovers, committing 17.3 per game while forcing 15.7 per contest (sixth in the conference).

South Dakota Mines played Friday's contest without leading scorer Ryan Weiss and her 17.2 points per game (fourth in the RMAC). Weiss - who leads the RMAC in 3-pointers per game at 3.2, is sixth in steals per game (2.1) and 13th in rebounding (6.2 - only played three minutes in the previous game against Chadron State. The Hardrockers' next leading scorer is Naomi Hidalgo at 8.0 points to go along with 6.3 rebounds per contest whil Michaela Shaklee is averaging 7.9 points per contest. Anna Combalia is third in the RMAC in assists (4.3) while averaging 6.2 points.

EARLIER THIS SEASON VERSUS SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
The Mountaineers split a pair of games against the Hardrockers earlier this season on back-to-back days in Gunnison. Western defeated SDM 79-72 on Jan. 4 in a non-RMAC contest with Wagstaff leading the Mountaineers with 24 points while Cooper had 19 points and seven assists. Makenna Bodette had a team-high 20 points for Mines while Weiss added 17 points. In the game on Jan. 5 (an RMAC contest), the Mountaineers lost to the Hardrockers 72-68. Smantha Coleman had 19 points to lead Western while Michael Shaklee had 24 points (going 5-for-7 from 3-point range) to lead South Dakota Mines.

WESTERN COLORADO NOTES

- WAGSTAFF BREAKS 3-POINT RECORD VS. ADAMS STATE, TIES FOR SIXTH ON SINGLE-GAME SCORING LIST
Junior Emmery Wagstaff broke the single-game 3-point record while tying for sixth on the single-game scoring list with her performance against Adams State on Feb. 20. She went 9-for-14 from 3-point range - breaking the record of seven that was tied by three different players (including current teammate Samantha Coleman) - and finished with 33 points, tied for sixth on the Western all-time single-game points list.

- S. COLEMAN BREAKS MOUNTAINEER ALL-TIME 3-POINT RECORD, REACHES 1,000-POINT MARK
Senior Samantha Coleman on Saturday against Colorado School of Mines on Feb. 13 with three 3-pointers broke the Western Colorado women's basketball all-time record for 3-pointers in a career of 181 set by Brooke Pendergraft (2008-12). Coleman now has 191 3-pointers and counting.

Coleman became the ninth player in Western history to reach 1,000 career points as she has now has 1,043 points. She's chasing Jade McIntosh (2011-15) and her 1,126 career points for the No. 8 spot.

- ERICKSON MOVES TO SEVENTH ON MOUNTAINEERS' ALL-TIME ASSIST LIST
Senior Jessie Erickson is now seventh on Western's all-time assist list with 264 - eight behind the No. 6 spot of Cindy Gosage (272 - 1980-82). Lauri Nickolaus holds the all-time career mark with 400 set from 1983-87.

- 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 19-3 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 65 career victories is tied for third in program history, behind James Hahn (113 - 1982-92) and Phile Swille (69 - 1978-82) and tied with Latricia Trammell (65 - 2007-12). Her 54 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	13-4	12-4
OVERALL	----	103-92	84-74
AT WESTERN	----	65-60	54-50
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.