Buffs Fall to Utes, 67-64

Tuesday, February 24

Boulder, Colo.

7:00 PM

Colorado

20-9,11-6Big 12

Utah

18-11,9-8Big 12

Utah

Colorado

February 24, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The Colorado women's basketball team (20-9, 11-6 Big 12) fell to Utah (18-11, 9-8 Big 12), 67-64, at CU Events Center on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

The Buffaloes saw a slow start to the first quarter but came back to lead the Utes by one. A strong second quarter established a seven-point lead heading into halftime. Colorado struggled in the third and couldn't make up the deficit in the fourth, seeing Utah take the game, 67-64.

"Utah's a great team, and I love their coach. I love their program, and they're really great, and they deserved to win tonight," head coach JR Payne. "They played like their season was on the line, and I'm really disappointed in the first little bit of the game. I just felt like we just weren't as ready as we needed to be. It's not that we didn't play hard; we did. We always play hard, but our execution maybe wasn't as good as it needed to be, and our pace wasn't as good as it needed to be."

Colorado had more rebounds (36-30), bench points (34-16), steals (9-7), second chance points (10-7) and blocks (3-1) than Utah.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first quarter started with a Utes three pointer in transition and a bucket through contact. Utah made the ensuing free throw to establish an early lead (6-0, UU). The Buffs forced a turnover on their next two defensive possessions, which Jr. G Desiree Wooten converted two free throws from on the other end (6-2, Utah). Fr. F Logyn Greer added another basket down low before the Utes responded with one of their own to end a three-minute scoring drought (8-4, UU). After the media timeout, Fr. G Erianna Gooden converted two from the stripe, and Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat made a pair of free throws to tie the score (8-8). Fr. C Jade Crook then created her own shot in the post before Utah scored its sixth points in the paint of the game (10-10). Wooten went coast-to-coast after forcing a steal to give Colorado its first lead of the game (12-10, CU). The Utes had a shot clock violation on the other end, and Sr. F Jade Masogayo converted the turnover into a layup (14-10, CU). Utah hit a three pointer to close the gap, but then Masogayo drew an offensive foul, which was the Utes' eighth turnover, to end the quarter 14-13 (CU).

The second quarter began with a Utah basket, which Crook answered with a layup (16-15, CU). The Utes made a triple on the other end before Crook hit a jumper to start a perfect 3-3 from the field (18-18). After a successful Buffs' challenge, Jr. G Zyanna Walker made the most of the second chance possession with a jumper (20-18, CU). Crook hit a three pointer before Utah responded with a layup (23-20, CU). Walker added on to her second-quarter tally with another basket to give Colorado its largest lead of the game before a timeout (25-20, CU). Wooten dished down low and gave Masogayo two free throw attempts, which she made both of (27-20, CU). Walker then pickpocketed the Utes' passing lane, and Masogayo turned that into two more points for a quick 6-0 Buffs' run (29-20, CU). Utah went to the free throw line and made two to end a four-minute scoring drought (29-22, CU). Masogayo went down low for a basket before the Utes converted one out of two from the stripe (31-23, CU). Wooten then hit a step-back jumper, which Utah answered with a three pointer to end the first half. (33-26, CU).

The Utes opened the third quarter scoring with a jumper and two free throws (33-30, CU). Utah added on with another pair from the line before Walker got the Buffs going with a basket (35-32, CU). The Utes answered with a three pointer to tie the game and took the lead with two more free throws (37-35, UU). Wooten responded with a jumper, but then Utah made another triple (40-37, UU). Wooten then went to the stripe and made both attempts, and

Walker drove in for a layup after a Utes bucket (42-41, UU). After the media timeout, Utah converted two free throws, and a handful of Colorado offensive boards in a singular possession turned into a Greer bucket (44-43, UU). The Utes continued their free throw avalanche with two makes and tacked on a triple before Wooten answered with one of her own (49-46, UU). So. F Tabitha Betson made her first jumper of the game, and the Buffs ended the quarter by forcing a Utah shot clock violation (49-48, UU).

The Utes made back-to-back three pointers to start the fourth quarter before CU called a timeout (55-48, UU). Walker came out of the stoppage with a jumper, and Greer hit a triple to cut into the lead (55-53, UU). Utah made two successive layups in response, but Betson converted a pair of free throws on the other end (59-55, UU). Dutat grabbed an impressive offensive rebound and made the putback before the Utes scored a bucket (61-57, UU).
Wooten hit a three pointer on the next Buffs' possession, but the Utes responded by finishing through contact (63-60, UU). Masogayo went to the line and coolly made both before a stoppage (63-62, UU). Colorado was forced to intentionally foul on the other end, and Utah converted two free throws to reestablish a three-point lead (65-62, UU). Dutat then scored both of her free throws after being fouled down low with six seconds left in the game (65-64, UU). The Utes made one of two from the stripe the next trip down the floor, but then the Buffs threw an errant pass inbounding the ball, which ended the game (67-64, UU).

UP NEXT:

The Buffs will go on the road to face BYU on Saturday, Feb. 28. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and fans can follow along via live stats links on CUBuffs.com.

PLAYER STATS:

Jr. G Desiree Wooten scored 16 points off the bench, grabbed five rebounds and had two assists. She went a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line.
Jr. G Zyanna Walker scored 10 points, four rebounds and grabbed three steals. She also registered a block. She now has over 400 career rebounds.
Sr. F Jade Masogayo scored 10 points, had one block, one steal and one assist.
Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat scored six points, notched a steal and had nine rebounds. Seven of those boards were on the offensive glass. She is now only two offensive rebounds away from matching Colorado's all-time single-season record (116).
Fr. C Jade Crook scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds. She now has 100 points this season.
Fr. F Logyn Greer scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds and had two assists.
So. F Tabitha Betson scored four points, had three rebounds and one assist.
Fr. G Erianna Gooden grabbed two rebounds and scored two points.

Jr. G Maeve McErlane had one assist.
For the Utes, Lani White scored 21 points, grabbed four rebounds and went 8-10 from the free throw line.

GAME NOTES:

The Buffs move to 22-24 all-time against the Utes.
All-time, the Buffs move to 120-155 in Big 12 play.
CU had more rebounds (36-30), field goal makes (22-20), second chance points (10-7), blocks (3-1) and steals (9-7) than Utah.

Colorado is 14-3 at the CU Events Center after the season home finale.

For more information on the Colorado women's basketball team, a complete schedule and results, please visit CUBuffs.com. Fans of the Buffs can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @CUBuffsWBB.