Colorado’s women’s basketball team lost to No. 20 West Virginia, 61-55, at the CU Events Center on Wednesday. The Buffaloes now have a record of 15-8 overall and 6-5 in Big 12 play, while West Virginia improves to 19-5 and 9-3 in conference.
The game was closely contested through the first half, with Colorado trailing by three points at halftime. Both teams struggled offensively in the third quarter as defense became a focus. In the fourth quarter, Colorado closed the gap to two points but could not overtake West Virginia, who secured the win with a late run.
Head coach JR Payne commented on the outcome: “I’m disappointed in that one. I thought we certainly had our opportunities, and West Virginia is a really good team,” Payne said. “They’re number 20 in the country for a reason, but I think when we turn on the film, we’re going to see that there were a lot of really missed opportunities, whether that’s lack of execution, or soft passes, or not executing. Games like this are super frustrating because it’s such a cool opportunity to have a great team on your home floor as you’re climbing in the rankings in the conference. I’m pretty bummed about the outcome, but certainly we played hard, we competed.”
Despite the loss, Colorado outperformed West Virginia in several statistical categories including rebounds (39-33), points off turnovers (17-13), bench points (25-9), and assists (9-7).
“There were some bright spots,” Payne added. “[Jade Masogayo]: nine-for-nine from free throws. [Tabitha Betson] had 10 rebounds. There are lots of good things that happened. It’s just that everybody is so good. I always say, you don’t have to play perfect basketball, not by any stretch, but the things that we can control, we have to control.”
Key contributors for Colorado included Jade Masogayo with 13 points and five rebounds; Desiree Wooten with 12 points along with four rebounds and four assists; Zyanna Walker adding eight points and eight rebounds; Tabitha Betson collecting seven points and ten rebounds; Logyn Greer contributing eleven points; Erianna Gooden recording two assists and two steals; Anaëlle Dutat scoring two points; and Maeve McErlane providing one rebound and two assists.
For West Virginia, Jordan Harrison led all scorers with eighteen points.
Colorado’s record against West Virginia moves to one win and two losses all-time. In Big 12 play overall since joining the conference historically they stand at 115 wins and 154 losses.
The Buffaloes will next face No. 14 TCU at home on Sunday at CU Events Center at 1 p.m., with streaming available via ESPN+ and live stats provided through CUBuffs.com.
