DENVER  Right out of the gate Western Colorado's women's basketball team will square off against one of the best teams in the nation as the Mountaineers will challenge No. 2 Texas Women's University Friday evening in a neutral-site game at MSU Denver's Auraria Event Center.

The Mountaineers will continue action in the Conference Challenge with a Sunday afternoon game at the Center against Angelo State University.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023-24 Stats

• The Mountaineers return their top seven scorers and top eight rebounders from last season, both categories topped by 2024-25 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player to Watch Rachel Cockman.
• She averaged 14.8 PPG and 7.3 RPG last season, but was not the only double-digit scorer who is also coming back. Ivey Schmidt (12.0 PPG) and Jayda Maves (11.7) return to the backcourt, with Maves doubling up all other Mountaineers from long range with a total of 63 3-pointers.
• Creating a pick-your-poison situation for opponents is the addition of Jayde Tschritter, a 3-point specialist from Texas A&M Kingsville. The transfer knocked down 50 3-pointers last season for the Javelinas.
• Another addition from the transfer portal is Chloe Daniels, a 6-1 forward from Lane Community College who averaged 12.0 PPG and 9.3 RPG last season.
• The Mountaineers got their feet wet on October 26 with an exhibition contest against the University of New Mexico at The Pit, the Lobos' famous arena.

TEXAS WOMEN'S HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2024-25 Stats

• The Pioneers are 2-0 with wins over Missouri Southern State and Northwest Missouri State at the 2024 D2CCA Tip-Off Classic.
• TWU returns its top five scorers from a 2024-25 squad that lost the NCAA D-II title to Minnesota State Mankato.
• The Pioneers are averaging 65 PPG with a plus-11.0 scoring margin after the Classic. They are also outrebounding their opponents 38.5 RPG to 35.0.
• Ashley Ingram, last season's top scorer, again leads the team with a 17.0 average, while Leila Patel is in her familiar second spot averaging 10.0 PPG trailing only Ingram.
• Ingram has come down with 16 rebounds and Scout Huffman with 12 to pace the Pioneers off the glass.

ANGELO STATE HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023-24 Stats

• The Rambelles will open their season Friday evening playing host MSU Denver at the Conference Challenge before taking on the Mountaineers Sunday afternoon.
• ASU was 20-12 overall and 14-8 last season in the Lone Star Conference. They qualified for the LSC postseason tournament but were bounced in the opening round in a 20-point loss to Texas Permian Basin.
• Last season the Rambelles won a 64-55 neutral-site game against Western Colorado in Denton, Texas. The Mountaineers won the first meeting between the teams in 2021, but ASU has won the past two games.
• They lost their top two scorers and their first and third leading rebounders from last season, but Madelin Stephens was third in scoring (13.3 PPG) and second in rebounding (7.7 RPG) and is back for her senior season.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will travel way north for their next games, taking on host University of Alaska Fairbanks on Fri., Nov. 15, followed by a Saturday neutral-site game against Western Oregon University at Alaska-Fairbanks' Patty Center.