Sixth-Seeded Colorado Ready for Big 12 Tournament

Thursday, March 5

Kansas City, Mo.

7 PM

Colorado

[11] Kansas

March 04, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Colorado Notes Kansas Notes Big 12 Tournament Tickets Donate to Women's Basketball

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

GAME #31 • Thursday, March 5 • 7 p.m. MT
T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Mo.
[6] Colorado (20-10, 11-7 Big 12) vs. [11] Kansas (19-12, 8-10 Big 12)
TIP: 7:02 p.m. MT
WATCH: ESPN+ (https://bit.ly/3P3fqWg)
RADIO: Colorado Radio Network, 'Denver's Talk Station' AM 630 KHOW (Cory Lopez, Carol Callan)
LISTEN ONLINE: Sirius XM 84, and on the SiriusXM App, or at https://buffs.me/4shh5GY
LIVE STATISTICS: https://buffs.me/3ZSJJRZ
SERIES RECORD: Kansas Leads, 35-36 (.493 CU)
LAST MEETING: W, 69-66 OT (Feb. 1, 2026 • Lawrence, Kan.)
STREAK: Won 2 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-7

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Colorado women's basketball team (20-10, 11-7 Big 12) is back in action at the 2026 Phillips 66 Women's Big 12 Tournament this week at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. The Buffs will match up with 11-seed Kansas (19-12, 8-10 Big 12) on Mar. 5 at 7 p.m. MT in the second round of the tournament, having received a first-round bye as the six-seed.

The Buffs meet the Jayhawks for the second time this season on Thursday, and for the 72nd time in program history. On Feb. 1, CU met Kansas in Lawrence and beat the Jayhawks by three in overtime, 69-66 – the Buffs' only overtime game this season. The Black and Gold are looking to extend their win streak against KU to three.

The Buffs wrapped up their regular season last Saturday in Provo, Utah, with a tough loss to BYU, 75-62 (Feb. 28). Jr. G Desiree Wooten scored 25 points, matching her career high, as well as five rebounds, two steals and two assists. Despite losses in its last two games of the regular season, Colorado is 8-3 in its last 11 games going into the 2026 Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament.

TIP-OFF (TL;DR)

CU is led by 10th-year head coach JR Payne, who has led the Buffs to a 184-126 (.594) record as CU's eighth head women's basketball coach. Coach Payne has been extended through the 2031 season and has led the Buffs to three NCAA appearances, two WNIT appearances and one WBIT appearance.
In its second year back in the Big 12, Colorado was picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll. Colorado is 120-156 (.435) overall in Big 12 conference play. The Buffs boast an 11-7 record in conference play this season, and they are the six-seed in the conference tournament.
CU is receiving votes in the USA Today/WBCA (34th) poll for the second week in a row. The Buffs were receiving votes in both AP and USA Today/WBCA polls last week for first time since the end of the 2023-24 season, where it was ranked 15th in both the AP and WBCA polls (Apr. 8, 2024). The Buffs are 46th in the NET rankings and 43rd in the WAB.
The Buffs return four from the 2024-25 roster: Sr. F Jade Masogayo, So. G Kennedy Sanders, 5th C JoJo Nworie and So. F Tabitha Betson.
Colorado has 10 newcomers on the squad for the 2025-26 season, five transfers and five freshmen.
Sr. F Jade Masogayo was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. Masogayo is ranked 25th in conference for points per game with 11.7, and 18th in blocks per game with 0.8. This marks Masogayo's second All-Conference award in the Big 12 after being named honorable mention at the end of last season. In this season alone, Masogayo averaged 11.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Additionally, Masogayo had 19 games with double-digit points, and had a stretch of 10 double-digit point games in a row during conference play. She has had at least one rebound and one assist in all but one game this season, and has had five or more rebounds 16 times, as well as having three or more assists six times.
Jr. G Desiree Wooten received All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. Wooten is ranked 18th in the Big 12 Conference for scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game. She also ranked 19th in free throw percentage, shooting 74% from the line. Wooten scored double-digit points off the bench in 24-of-30 games this season, and tied her career high in points with 25 against BYU (Feb. 28). In all but one game, Wooten recorded at least one assist, including three or more assists in 11 games. She also grabbed at least one rebound in every conference game except one, with four or more rebounds in seven games.
Named to both the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, Jr. G Zyanna Walker is third overall in the conference with 67 steals in 30 games played, averaging 2.2 steals per game. She is ranked 22nd in the conference in assists per game with 2.4. This is Walker's second All-Defensive Team selection, as well as second in the Big 12, having earned it at the end of last season at Kansas State. This season, she has had five or more steals three times and four or more steals six times. Walker also averaged 42.3% from the field this season.
Fr. F Logyn Greer was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Greer had 15 games this season with double-digit points and recorded a double-double against Miami (OH) with 12 points and 12 rebounds. She has also recorded at least one assist in 21 games, has grabbed at least one rebound in all but two games, and finished with five or more rebounds in 17 games. Greer has shot 45.4% from the field and has averaged 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.6 steals per game.
Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat leads the Big 12 in offensive rebounds per game (3.9) and total offensive rebounds (117), and she is third in conference for rebounds per game (8.1). She is also tied for 12th for steals per game (1.8). Dutat has 117 offensive rebounds this season and now holds the program record for offensive boards in a single season. Dutat managed nine rebounds (seven offensive) versus Utah (Feb. 24) and three against BYU to achieve this milestone (Feb. 28).
As a team, the Buffs are second in the Big 12 for offensive rebounds per game (13.5), third for rebounding margin (7.1), fourth for steals per game (10.03), sixth for scoring defense (61.8), sixth for rebounds per game (38.4), and seventh for scoring margin (7.3).

ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: The Buffs' game versus [11] Kansas will be streamed on ESPN+. The Buffs are on the radio via the CUBuffs.com website and Varsity app for every game. The pregame show, Buffs Warm-up, starts a half-hour before tip and includes a pregame interview with Coach Payne. At halftime, stay tuned for a get-to-know interview with players and coaches. Colorado broadcasts on the iHeart Radio station, 'Denver's Talk Station' AM 630 KHOW. Available on the Varsity app. Fans can also follow Colorado games through live stats with links available at CUBuffs.com.

POSTSEASON BITES: Colorado is 10-15 in Big 12 Tournament play, and was 21-10 in the Big Eight Tournament. The Buffs are 41-38 in conference tournament games overall. The Black and Gold have four Big Eight Championships (1989, 1992, 1995, 1996) under their belt, as well as a Big 12 Championship in 1997. This is the Buffs' third time being a six seed in program history, having also been in the 1987 Big Eight Tournament and the 2021 Pac-12 Tournament. Colorado is 3-4 against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament. CU has 43 conference tournament appearances, 15 in the Big 12, with this season being the 16th.

MILESTONE WATCH: So. F Tabitha Betson has 184 rebounds, 16 away from 200. Fr. F Logyn Greer has 283 points, 17 away from 300. Sr. F Jade Masogayo has 1,278 career points, 22 away from 1,300. Jr. G Maeve McErlane has 97 rebounds, three away from 100, and she has 194 points, six away from 200. Jr. G Zyanna Walker has 874 career points, 26 away from 900. Jr. G Desiree Wooten had 290 career rebounds, 10 away from 300.

MILESTONE CHECK: Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat reached 117 offensive rebounds on the season, setting the program record for offensive boards in a single season (vs. BYU, Feb. 28). Fr. C Jade Crook reached 100 career points against Utah (Feb. 24). So. F Tabitha Betson reached 100 points on the season (263 career) against Utah (Feb. 24). Jr. G Zyanna Walker reached 400 career rebounds versus Utah (Feb. 24).

ASSISTED BY: The Buffs have had double figures in assists in all but four games this season. CU has had 20 or more assists three times -- 20 versus Boise State (Nov. 18), 20 against Arizona (Dec. 31), and 20 at Houston (Feb. 11). Colorado is averaging 14.1 assists per game as a team.

GIMME THAT!: Colorado has had 17 games this season with 10 or more steals as a team, averaging 10.0 steals per game.

FIGURE THAT: Four Buffs scored in double-figures against the Lady Raiders (Feb. 21), the 16th time this season CU has had four or more players with double-digit points. The Buffs are 13-3 in games where four or more players are in double-digits. Versus then-No. 20 Texas Tech, Jr. G Zyanna Walker had 18 points, Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat had 11 points, Jr. G Desiree Wooten had 16, and Fr. F Logyn Greer had 13.

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.