The Colorado women’s basketball team was narrowly defeated by West Virginia, 48-47, in the semifinals of the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The Buffaloes now hold a record of 22-11 overall and 11-7 in Big 12 play, while West Virginia advances with a 26-6 record.
The game was closely contested from the start. Colorado kept within one point after falling behind by five in the first quarter. The Buffaloes’ defense limited West Virginia to just four points in the second quarter, tying the score at halftime. In the third quarter, West Virginia built a lead of up to 12 points before Colorado narrowed it to four points heading into the final period. Despite trailing by one for much of the fourth quarter, Colorado could not regain the lead.
“What an incredible tournament we’ve been privileged to be a part of,” head coach JR Payne stated. “I’m really proud of how our team competed. After last week, I don’t think there were very many people outside of our locker room that believed we would come here and do what we’ve done. But we have a tremendous amount of belief in ourselves and in each other. We have a very resilient team, and I think we saw that on full display for three hard-fought games. I’m really proud of my team individually, collectively. […] So, two great Big 12 teams that are going to keep playing throughout March, and we’ll rest and recover and then be excited for whatever we have next.”
Statistically, Colorado led West Virginia in rebounds (38-34), bench points (20-0), assists (8-5), and blocks (2-1). The Buffaloes also held West Virginia to its lowest scoring quarter this season during the second.
Desiree Wooten reached her 1,000th career point during the game and finished with 14 points along with two rebounds, one steal, and one assist. Zyanna Walker scored 16 points with five rebounds—marking her first time scoring over 15 points in back-to-back games. Anaëlle Dutat contributed a game-high 13 rebounds alongside four points and one assist; her rebound total is the most for a Colorado player in a conference tournament since Jamee Swan’s performance against Oregon State in 2015.
Other contributors included Jade Masogayo with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and one block; Logyn Greer with six points; Tabitha Betson with three rebounds; Maeve McErlane with an assist and rebound; Jade Crook with three rebounds; and Erianna Gooden with one rebound.
For West Virginia, Jordan Harrison led with 15 points and five rebounds.
With this loss, Colorado moves to a record of 1-3 all-time against West Virginia and falls to 0-1 against them in conference tournament play. Overall, their Big 12 Tournament record stands at 12-16.
Wooten has tied for second place nationally since the 1999-2000 season for most consecutive games scoring ten or more points off the bench—reaching that mark in sixteen straight games—and she is now the first Buffs player since Linda Lappe (2001–02) to achieve double-digit scoring off the bench in three straight conference tournament contests.
Colorado will now wait for Selection Sunday on March 15 to learn its fate for postseason play.
