Thursday, March 6
Kansas City, Mo.
12:30 p.m.
Colorado
20-11,9-9Big 12
61
vs
58
Arizona
19-13,10-8Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Colorado
7
19
14
21
61
Arizona
14
12
22
10
58
Photo by: Serena Rodriguez
Buffs March On
March 06, 2025 | Women's Basketball
Colorado defeats Arizona to advance in the Big 12 Championship
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Big efforts from unlikely sources helped the ninth-seeded Colorado women's basketball team take down eighth-seeded Arizona, 61-58, in second-round play of the Big 12 Championship at the T-Mobile Center on Thursday.
Redshirt freshman Kennedy Sanders and freshman Tabitha Betson helped Colorado down the stretch, erasing a 10-point second-half deficit. Sanders totaled 12 of her 14 points in the second half, while Betson poured in 10 of her season-high 16 points in the final 20 minutes and led the team with seven rebounds.
"Obviously, you can look at what these players did. As young as they are today, their future is really bright," head coach JR Payne expressed. "It's not just basketball play. The character of that group is very, very high. They're competitive, they're great teammates, and I think this young group is going to be good for a long time."
The Buffs never led by more than four points and only held the advantage for a total of 3:47 on Thursday. Lior Garzon hit a mid-range jumper and was fouled on the play late in the fourth quarter but couldn't convert the 3-point play as the Buffs held a 58-56 lead. The CU defense held Arizona to just 1-for-6 shooting in the final three minutes, and Kindyll Wetta and Betson came through at the free-throw line to secure the Buffs' second win in as many days.
"I'm so excited," Payne said after the win. "I'm so proud of our team. [A] total team win. We had so many different key plays from different players at different moments. Whether it was Kennedy hitting a 3, Tabitha making a game-winning free throw, Grace [Oliver's] rebounds, Sara-Rose [Smith] coming in and playing injured, or Kindyll [Wetta] playing with four fouls. Honest to goodness, I could name every player on the team and what they did to contribute to today's victory.
Colorado outscored Arizona 21-10 in the fourth quarter and shot a team-high 53.3% in the final 10 minutes to prevail with its 20th win of the season. The Buffaloes have now hit 20 wins in four straight seasons for the first time since 2000-01 to 2003-04.
Garzon finished the day with nine points, doing all her scoring in the final quarter. Sara-Rose Smith, who did not play Wednesday against Houston, closed with seven points and four rebounds.
"I think we have shown our resilience all year long with injuries, people being out, different lineups and playing out of position, having to go for maybe eight minutes a game to 35 minutes a game. It's a very, very resilient group. I think that's the biggest strength of our team," Payne added.
Arizona (19-13) had two players in double figures, with Skylar Jones leading the way with a game-high 17 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado's turnover problem continued early on Thursday in the first quarter. The Buffs had giveaways on their first two possessions and coughed it up six times in the first 10 minutes. The early turnovers and a slow offensive start got Colorado in an early 14-7 hole after the first frame.
The Buffs righted the ship in the second quarter, after Arizona increased its lead to nine. Colorado scored eight points off Arizona's five turnovers in the quarter and got the offense going after its slow first quarter. Betson went 3-for-5 from the floor with six points in the quarter, and CU closed the quarter 7-for-15. Smith hit the Buffs' first 3 of the game, sparking an 8-0 run that gave CU its first lead of the day, 22-21. The Buffs outscored Arizona 19-12 in the quarter, evening the game at 26-26 at the half.
"We talked about being all in it together, and I think we were today," Sanders said of the team's outlook. "We talked about not leaving each other on an island, and we really played well as a team. We switched up our press break and worked on it a lot, but having everyone confident, dribbling the ball up the floor and being there to help each other was important."
The Wildcats broke the tie right out of the with a 6-0 run, jumping out to a 32-26 lead by the 7:55 mark. Betson scored the following five points for the Buffs to trim the Arizona lead to one before another 8-0 push from Arizona grew the deficit to 40-31 with 4:54 to go in the quarter. Sanders flashed through the paint for the final basket of the third quarter, narrowing Arizona's lead to 48-40.
Arizona's lead hit 10, 50-40, early in the fourth quarter, but the Buffs' defense didn't break. CU held the Wildcats to just 2-for-9 shooting to start the quarter and used a 10-1 run, capped by a Sanders 3 to put the Buffs ahead 54-53 with 5:24 to play.
Jada Williams fired back with a 3-pointer to give Arizona back the lead, 56-54, but Garzon corralled an offensive rebound and put it back up and to even the game at 56-56 with 2:21 to go.
Garzon's and-1 jumper put the Buffs ahead 58-56 with 1:28 to play, but she couldn't get the free-throw to follow. The two teams traded empty possessions, ultimately putting Arizona in a position to foul with 21 seconds to go.
Wetta stepped to the line and hit both free throws to give CU the 60-56 lead, but a Williams jumper got Arizona back within one possession with 17 seconds to go.
Arizona again fouled to stop the clock, sending Betson to the line. She hit the front end of her free throws to put CU up 61-58, and Arizona missed on a last-second attempt to tie the game with Smith getting defensive rebound to secure the win.
"It's super exciting," Betson exclaimed. "It's my first time in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, so it means so much to win and get on this roll now. How much I love the team. I'm so excited and happy to play with this team, and I love playing with them, so it means so much. I'm just trying to keep this going and get another win."
UP NEXT
The Buffs will play their third game in three days, taking on top-seeded and eighth-ranked TCU on Friday (12:30 p.m. MT).
NOTES
CU improves to 10-14 all-time in the Big 12 Championship…Colorado has won two conference tournament games for the second time under JR Payne (2021-22)…It's just the fourth time CU has won at least two games in a conference tournament since 1997 (1997, 2015, 2022, 2025)…Thursday was CU's second win this season after having to overcome a deficit of 10+ points (trailed by 16 vs West Virginia on Dec. 21)…Betson has now twice led the team in scoring and is the only freshman to be the leading scorer for CU this season…CU has won the last three games against the Wildcats and improved to 23-10 all-time.
Redshirt freshman Kennedy Sanders and freshman Tabitha Betson helped Colorado down the stretch, erasing a 10-point second-half deficit. Sanders totaled 12 of her 14 points in the second half, while Betson poured in 10 of her season-high 16 points in the final 20 minutes and led the team with seven rebounds.
"Obviously, you can look at what these players did. As young as they are today, their future is really bright," head coach JR Payne expressed. "It's not just basketball play. The character of that group is very, very high. They're competitive, they're great teammates, and I think this young group is going to be good for a long time."
The Buffs never led by more than four points and only held the advantage for a total of 3:47 on Thursday. Lior Garzon hit a mid-range jumper and was fouled on the play late in the fourth quarter but couldn't convert the 3-point play as the Buffs held a 58-56 lead. The CU defense held Arizona to just 1-for-6 shooting in the final three minutes, and Kindyll Wetta and Betson came through at the free-throw line to secure the Buffs' second win in as many days.
"I'm so excited," Payne said after the win. "I'm so proud of our team. [A] total team win. We had so many different key plays from different players at different moments. Whether it was Kennedy hitting a 3, Tabitha making a game-winning free throw, Grace [Oliver's] rebounds, Sara-Rose [Smith] coming in and playing injured, or Kindyll [Wetta] playing with four fouls. Honest to goodness, I could name every player on the team and what they did to contribute to today's victory.
Colorado outscored Arizona 21-10 in the fourth quarter and shot a team-high 53.3% in the final 10 minutes to prevail with its 20th win of the season. The Buffaloes have now hit 20 wins in four straight seasons for the first time since 2000-01 to 2003-04.
Garzon finished the day with nine points, doing all her scoring in the final quarter. Sara-Rose Smith, who did not play Wednesday against Houston, closed with seven points and four rebounds.
"I think we have shown our resilience all year long with injuries, people being out, different lineups and playing out of position, having to go for maybe eight minutes a game to 35 minutes a game. It's a very, very resilient group. I think that's the biggest strength of our team," Payne added.
Arizona (19-13) had two players in double figures, with Skylar Jones leading the way with a game-high 17 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado's turnover problem continued early on Thursday in the first quarter. The Buffs had giveaways on their first two possessions and coughed it up six times in the first 10 minutes. The early turnovers and a slow offensive start got Colorado in an early 14-7 hole after the first frame.
The Buffs righted the ship in the second quarter, after Arizona increased its lead to nine. Colorado scored eight points off Arizona's five turnovers in the quarter and got the offense going after its slow first quarter. Betson went 3-for-5 from the floor with six points in the quarter, and CU closed the quarter 7-for-15. Smith hit the Buffs' first 3 of the game, sparking an 8-0 run that gave CU its first lead of the day, 22-21. The Buffs outscored Arizona 19-12 in the quarter, evening the game at 26-26 at the half.
"We talked about being all in it together, and I think we were today," Sanders said of the team's outlook. "We talked about not leaving each other on an island, and we really played well as a team. We switched up our press break and worked on it a lot, but having everyone confident, dribbling the ball up the floor and being there to help each other was important."
The Wildcats broke the tie right out of the with a 6-0 run, jumping out to a 32-26 lead by the 7:55 mark. Betson scored the following five points for the Buffs to trim the Arizona lead to one before another 8-0 push from Arizona grew the deficit to 40-31 with 4:54 to go in the quarter. Sanders flashed through the paint for the final basket of the third quarter, narrowing Arizona's lead to 48-40.
Arizona's lead hit 10, 50-40, early in the fourth quarter, but the Buffs' defense didn't break. CU held the Wildcats to just 2-for-9 shooting to start the quarter and used a 10-1 run, capped by a Sanders 3 to put the Buffs ahead 54-53 with 5:24 to play.
Jada Williams fired back with a 3-pointer to give Arizona back the lead, 56-54, but Garzon corralled an offensive rebound and put it back up and to even the game at 56-56 with 2:21 to go.
Garzon's and-1 jumper put the Buffs ahead 58-56 with 1:28 to play, but she couldn't get the free-throw to follow. The two teams traded empty possessions, ultimately putting Arizona in a position to foul with 21 seconds to go.
Wetta stepped to the line and hit both free throws to give CU the 60-56 lead, but a Williams jumper got Arizona back within one possession with 17 seconds to go.
Arizona again fouled to stop the clock, sending Betson to the line. She hit the front end of her free throws to put CU up 61-58, and Arizona missed on a last-second attempt to tie the game with Smith getting defensive rebound to secure the win.
"It's super exciting," Betson exclaimed. "It's my first time in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, so it means so much to win and get on this roll now. How much I love the team. I'm so excited and happy to play with this team, and I love playing with them, so it means so much. I'm just trying to keep this going and get another win."
UP NEXT
The Buffs will play their third game in three days, taking on top-seeded and eighth-ranked TCU on Friday (12:30 p.m. MT).
NOTES
CU improves to 10-14 all-time in the Big 12 Championship…Colorado has won two conference tournament games for the second time under JR Payne (2021-22)…It's just the fourth time CU has won at least two games in a conference tournament since 1997 (1997, 2015, 2022, 2025)…Thursday was CU's second win this season after having to overcome a deficit of 10+ points (trailed by 16 vs West Virginia on Dec. 21)…Betson has now twice led the team in scoring and is the only freshman to be the leading scorer for CU this season…CU has won the last three games against the Wildcats and improved to 23-10 all-time.
Team Stats
CU
UA
FG%
.444
.429
3FG%
.353
.250
FT%
.500
.625
RB
33
37
TO
18
18
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
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