GUNNISON, Colo.  For the first time since the 2019-20 season, Western Colorado women's basketball will be hosting a first round Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament game, welcoming Regis University to Paul Wright Gym on Tuesday, March 4 for a 6 p.m.

The Mountaineers earned their spot in the playoffs by flipping their win-loss record from last year, posting a 20-7 overall record this season and finishing second in the RMAC with a 15-5 league record.

THE HISTORY
The Rangers have an overall record of 13-10 against the Mountaineers, and had won three straight in the series before Western posted a 68-50 mid-season win on Regis' home court in December — the Mountaineers' first win at Regis since Dec. 2011.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE GAME | LEADERS & STATS

• The Mountaineers put together a seven-game win streak before it was halted by the tournament's top seed, Colorado Mesa, in Saturday's final regular season game. Western averaged 77 points during the streak while also averaging a winning margin of 18 points.
• Ivey Schmidt averaged 17 points per game during the streak, while Rachel Cockman averaged 14.8 PPG over the same span. For the season, Schmidt is Western's scoring leader at 13.3 PPG with Cockman just behind, at 12.5 PPG.
• The Mountaineer finished the regular season as the RMAC's rebounding leader, averaging 40.3 per game with a +8.1 rebounding margin. Cockman's 7.3 RPG led the Mountaineers, with Schmidt adding in 5.8 per game and Brooklyn Seymour chiming in with 5.2 RPG.
• Western closed out the regular season as the league's top defensive team, surrendering just 56.4 points per game.
• The tag-team duo of Jayde Tschritter and Jayda Maves are the Mountaineers' sharp-shooters from long range. Tschritter has hit 47 3-pointers this season while Maves has tossed in 33.
• Western is two wins shy of tying its program record for victories. The 1986-87 team finished its season with a 22-7 record.

REGIS HEADING INTO THE GAME | LEADERS & STATS

• The Rangers finished in seventh place in the RMAC standings with an 11-9 league mark, and a 13-14 overall record. They won the last three games in the regular season while averaging 82 points – 12 points greater than their season average of 70.7.
• Regis is averaging 39.6 RPG to fall behind only Western on the RMAC's rebounding list. Fiona Snashall, with 8.1 RPG, leads the team and gets help from Jessica Bollwahn (7.0) and Addison Branscum (5.4).
• Erin Fry is the Rangers' leading point scorer (18.8 PPG), but Athena Saragoza (18.1 PPG) might be more dangerous as her 87 3-pointers are the most in the conference. Fry is no slouch from long range, though, hitting 45 treys this season.

UP NEXT
The winner of Tuesday's game advances to the semifinal round on Friday, at the site of the highest remaining seed following the four quarterfinal games.