COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  For the first time since … well, it's been a while … Mountaineer women's basketball heads into a pair of weekend games tied for the top spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings.

There's still a long way to go in the regular season, but Western Colorado has the opportunity to put a stronger grip on the top spot with Thursday's game against fifth-place UC Colorado Springs and a Saturday outing against 12th-place Colorado Christian.

THE HISTORY

• Western and UCCS have been playing each other since 1990, with the Mountain Lions toting a 32-19 historical edge and a three-game winning streak over the Mountaineers into Thursday's game.
• Western last season ended a three-game win streak by CCU, earning a 60-57 win over the visiting Cougars. CCU does own the series lead at 19-13.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | LEADERS AND STATS

• The Mountaineers (13-4 overall, 8-2 RMAC) are on a three-game winning streak, last weekend downing hosts South Dakota Mines (68-51) and Black Hills State (56-51).
• Western continues to lead the league in rebounding, pulling down 40.1 per game and posting a +9.3 rebounding margin. The Mountaineers repeatedly earn rebounds across the entirety of the roster that sees game action, but Rachel Cockman (7.8 RPG), Ivey Schmidt (6.4) and Brooklyn Seymour (5.5) are the ring leaders.
• Seventh in scoring at 64.2 PPG, Western is once again led by Cockman (12.5) and Schmidt (11.9), and the team's scoring margin of +8.9 is second highest in the conference.
• Scoring from long distance has been a trademark all season for the Mountaineers, who rank third in the RMAC in 3-point field goal percentage (31.8%). Western is led from behind the arc by Jayde Tschritter who has rained in 33 triples this season, sixth most in the league.

UCCS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | LEADERS AND STATS

• The Mountain Lions (10-7, 6-4) won both of last weekend's home games, taking a 77-65 decision over New Mexico Highlands and earning a 74-71 victory over Fort Lewis.
• UCCS sits tied for fifth in the league standings, often battling down the wire as its +1.2 scoring margin represents many close games.
• The Mountain Lions are paced in the offensive end by Amyah Moore Allen (17.5 PPG) and Maison White (13.2). Moore Allen's average rates fifth highest amongst RMAC scoring.
• White's 10.9 RPG leads the team, which averages 35.9 RPG and posts a minus-1.9 rebounding margin.

COLORADO CHRISTIAN HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | LEADERS AND STATS

• The Cougars (5-13, 3-7) split last weekend's RMAC games, winning at home, 72-62, over Fort Lewis before dropping an 86-66 neutral-site game to Adams State. CCU will host Westminster on Thursday before Western visits on Saturday afternoon.
• CCU has four players averaging double digits in scoring, led by Nicole Bowlin's 12.4 PPG. The team is averaging 64.1 PPG and posts a minus-3.8 scoring margin.
• Dasiya Jones nearly doubles up the next leading rebounder on the team. She averages 9.7 RPG while the team is averaging 33.8 RPG. The Cougars have been out rebounded in nine games this season, posting a minus-1.6 rebounding margin, but have flipped the numbers in their last three, winning the battle off the glass in each of those games.
• Bowlin, with 63 assists, and Victoria Perez (49) run the attack when in the offensive end of the floor.

UP NEXT
Western will continue to chase home court spot in the RMAC (top four) when it returns home to Paul Wright Gym for a Feb. 6 game against Colorado School of Mines and a Feb. 8 contest against MSU Denver.