Going into Saturday’s regular season finale, the Colorado women’s basketball team is well aware of the stakes.
Beat BYU on its home court and the Buffs will be the No. 4 seed for next week’s Big 12 tournament, earning a double-bye. Lose, and they’ll need help to get the No. 4 and most likely land at No. 5 or No. 6, earning just a single bye. CU’s NCAA Tournament resume will also be impacted by the result.
Colorado Buffaloes’ Zyanna Walker, left, puts up a shot past Utah Utes’ LA Sneed, right, at the CU Events Center in Boulder on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)
Head coach JR Payne’s primary concern isn’t the stakes, however.
“We just need to play well and play to our potential. Period,” said Payne, whose team did not play to its potential in Tuesday’s 67-64 loss at home to Utah. “Whatever that means for us, as far as seeding or rankings or which post-season tournament we’re in or whatever, we just need to play well and that should be the goal, no matter what.
“We shouldn’t need any exterior motivation other than doing the best that we can do.”
The loss to Utah wasn’t CU’s worst game of the game year, but it might be the most disappointing. Had the Buffs won that game, they’d already have the No. 4 seed locked up. Instead, they missed 12 layups and had several costly mistakes in seeing their five-game winning streak come to a close.
“That’s why I’m frustrated by how we played,” Payne said. “Not because Utah isn’t great or anything, but just, like, we should be totally controlling the controllables at this point.”
Perhaps the Buffs were due for a letdown after going 8-1 in their previous nine games, a stretch that included wins against Big 12 champion and 11th-ranked TCU, as well as Oklahoma State and Texas Tech – the two teams tied with CU for fourth place.
The loss to Utah could ultimately cost the Buffs the No. 4 seed, but they caught a break the next night when Texas Tech lost at Kansas. Now, the task in front of the Buffs is to forget the Utah game and focus on the game in Provo, Utah.
“It’s one game at a time,” guard Desiree Wooten said. “We can’t really dwell on it. We got more games to get.”
CU has been good at bouncing back this year, going 6-2 after a loss. In both cases when they lost two in a row, the Buffs held fourth quarter leads before faltering down the stretch.
“Just got to stay confident each game,” guard Zyanna Walker said of rebounding from Tuesday. “Got to keep your head up and just take it one game at a time. … Don’t look too far down the road. Control what we can control. We can’t control where they have us in the rankings, where they put us, we just gotta do our best to win and play our best each and every game.”
The Buffs were at their best, or close to it, during the first meeting with BYU, a 76-46 rout in Boulder on Feb. 14. BYU struggled mightily to hit shots and rebound.
“There are rare games where you played the best you can play and they played the worst they can play,” Payne said in looking back at that matchup.
She certainly isn’t expecting an easy one this time, though. BYU lost at home to Cincinnati three days later, but has followed that with back-to-back impressive wins on the road, at Utah and Arizona State – two NCAA Tournament bubble teams.
“They look very confident,” Payne said of the Cougars. “They’re not necessarily doing much different. … (Sophomore Delaney) Gibb is obviously one of the premier players in the conference, or country, you could say. She’s playing really well.
“Honestly, I think BYU’s playing as well as any team in our conference right now.”
Payne’s also expecting the Cougars to be eager to make up for the poor performance in Boulder. And, BYU, currently tied for 10th in the Big 12, could still land a top-eight seed and earn a bye for next week.
For the Buffs, however, it all boils down to their motivation to put together a peak performance, and Payne is confident her team will be better than Tuesday.
“The emotional and mental side of the game is just as important as the physical side,” she said. “So I think having a group that naturally is resilient and naturally responds in a way that you would want your team to respond, I think is really, really great.”
CU Buffs women’s basketball at BYU
TIPOFF: Saturday, 2 p.m., Marriott Center in Provo, Utah
TV/RADIO: ESPN+/KHOW 630 AM
RECORDS: Colorado 20-9, 11-6 Big 12; BYU 19-10, 8-9 Big 12
COACHES: Colorado — JR Payne, 10th season (185-124; 286-237 career). BYU — Lee Cummard, 1st season (19-10).
KEY PLAYERS: Colorado — F Tabitha Betson, 6-2, So. (5.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, .362 3pt%); F Anaelle Dutat, 6-0, Sr. (9.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.9 spg, .526 fg%); F Logyn Greer, 6-4, Fr. (9.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg); F Jade Masogayo, 6-3, Sr. (12.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, .494 fg%); G Zyanna Walker, 5-11, Jr. (11.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.3 spg); G Desiree Wooten, 5-8, Jr. (12.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 spg). BYU — G Sydney Benally, 5-9, Fr. (7.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 4.1 apg); G/F Brinley Cannon, 6-1, So. (7.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.7 spg); G Delaney Gibb, 5-10, So. (17.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.4 apg, 2.0 spg); G Olivia Hamlin, 5-10, Fr. (12.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.8 spg); G Marya Hudgins,6-0, Jr. (9.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, .367 3pt%, .900 ft%); F Lara Rohkohl, 6-3, Sr. (8.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, .638 fg%).
NOTES: A win gives the Buffs the No. 4 seed for the Big 12 Tournament. They can get the No. 4 with a loss, but only if Oklahoma State and Texas Tech also lose this weekend and both teams are at home. … If CU loses and both OSU and Tech win, the Buffs will be the No. 6 seed. If the Buffs lose and just one of the other two loses, they’ll be the No. 5 seed. … CU is 10-7 all-time against BYU, including 2-0 since rejoining the Big 12 last year. Overall, CU has won eight in a row against BYU dating back to 1982. … BYU is 11-4 at home, while the Buffs are 4-5 on the road. After a 0-5 start, the Buffs have won their last four road games. … In 16 games, from Dec. 14 through the first BYU matchup on Feb. 14, Masogayo made 54.6% of her field goal attempts. In the last three games, however, she’s made just 26.9% (7-of-26). … Gibb went 3-for-12 with 11 points in Boulder. In three games since, she’s averaged 27.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists. … As of Thursday, CU was No. 45 in the NET rankings, while BYU was No. 59.
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