Colorado
14-6,5-4Big 12
BYU
10-10,1-8Big 12
Colorado Hangs on in Provo
January 29, 2025 | Women's Basketball
Nyamer Diew led all players with 22 points
PROVO, Utah – Colorado's strong showing from its bench was the difference-maker for the Buffaloes Wednesday night, notching a thrilling 67-66 win on the road at the Marriott Center over BYU.
The Buffs move to 14-6 on the season and 5-4 in the Big 12. It's their first win in the conference on the road after dropping the first four Big 12 contests away from the CU Events Center.
Nyamer Diew led the Buffs with a season-high 22 points while shooting 8-for-11 from the floor. Sara-Rose Smith, Colorado's leading rebounder, snagged a game-high 13 rebounds in the win over the Cougars.
"[Nyamer] has had a great two weeks of practice," head coach JR Payne said. "She has been high energy, lots of talk. She just was really, really great tonight."
Frida Formann collected another 3-point milestone for the record book Wednesday evening with her 300th career 3-point field goal. She is the first Buff, men's or women's, to reach the 300 milestone.
Delaney Gibb led BYU with 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting and seven rebounds.
The game was tied 16 times between the two teams, along with 15 different lead changes. Colorado owned the largest lead of 11 with 9:38 remaining in the third quarter.
"I'm actually just really proud of both teams tonight, certainly proud of our team for the way that we executed some new things down the stretch of the game," Payne stated. "Came up with a couple of really big stops, defensive rebounds. This is what the Big 12 is all about: very competitive basketball."
HOW IT HAPPENED
BYU captured an 8-2 lead over the Buffs in the first five minutes, but three consecutive scores from Lior Garzon, Tabitha Betson and Diew gave Colorado a 9-8 lead with 4:02 left in the first quarter. The two squads exchanged scores over the quarter's final minutes and ended the period with 13 apiece.
The Cougars opened the second quarter with two quick buckets, but each one was responded to with a Kindyll Wetta score for the Buffaloes, keeping the game tied at 17. Continuing to trade scores with one another, Diew hit back-to-back 3-pointers, putting CU up 29-23 with 2:32 left in the half. A 7-4 run over the final minutes of the second quarter, including five points from Grace Oliver, put Colorado up 36-27 headed to the break.
After dealing with foul trouble early on in the game, Jade Masogayo scored Colorado's first four points of the second half, maintaining the lead over BYU. Two 3-pointers from the Cougars brought them within five points of the Buffs, 40-35, with 6:59 left in the third quarter. Kemery Congdon then made her first shot from deep for the game for BYU, with CU now clinging onto a two-point lead.
Delaney Gibb tied the game with a layup inside the paint with 4:49 left in the quarter. The Cougars gained a 45-44 advantage with 1:42 remaining but then fouled Formann beyond the 3-point line in the final seconds of the quarter, leading to Formann making all three of her shots at the line and giving her team a 47-45 lead at the end of the third.
Formann found the back of the net from distance for the first time all night, giving CU a 52-48 lead with 9:15 to go. Masogayo extended the Buffs' lead to six, 56-50, with free throws at the seven-minute mark. Two minutes later, the two teams found themselves tied at 58 after a 3-pointer from BYU's Hattie Ogden.
Garzon answered back for the Buffs with a jumper of her own, giving CU the two-point advantage with 4:24 left in the contest.
In a game where no lead was safe, the Buffs and Cougars traded buckets back and forth over the game's final minutes. Congdon put BYU out in front, 66-64, with her third 3-pointer of the night at the 1:20 mark. Betson answered right back for the Buffaloes with a shot from deep of her own, putting CU up 67-66 with 1:03 left in the game.
With 27.8 remaining on the clock, BYU could not take the lead on a missed shot attempt. The Buffs turned the ball over on their possession with eight seconds left. The Cougars could not convert for the win on the other end, giving Colorado a nail-biting win.
UP NEXT
Colorado will return home Sunday at 2 p.m. MT to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
NOTES
CU improves to 9-7 all-time against BYU…Wednesday was CU's seventh straight win in the series…Colorado is now 1-1 this season in games decided by less than four points…The win was CU's first road-conference win since its 80-57 win at Washington (Feb. 4, 2024)...CU shot 50% (15-30) in the first half…It was the sixth double-figure scoring game for Diew as a Buff and her third career 20-point game…Fourth double-digit rebounding game for Smith…CU outscored BYU 39-12 off the bench.
