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Colorado escapes BYU for first conference road win

Mia Driscoll

Sara-Rose Smith looks to pass the ball for the Colorado Buffaloes on Jan. 29. 2025
Sara-Rose Smith dominated the glass in Colorado's win over BYU on Wednesday. Her 13 rebounds were a game-high for either team and her second-most in a game this season. (Photo via @CUBuffsWBB/X)

PROVO, Utah - The Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball team (14-6, 5-4 Big 12) came into Wednesday’s matchup against BYU (10-9, 1-7 Big 12) still looking for its first conference win away from Boulder after a statement win against a talented Kansas State team. The Buffs put together a complete 40-minute effort and escaped with a narrow 67-66 victory. 


There were many instances on Wednesday where Colorado played excellent, sound defense, and BYU found a way to beat the shot clock with a last-second bucket. Each team refused to go away and fought until the very end. 


The Buffs sat even with the Cougars after one quarter but found momentum in the second period and went into halftime up nine. While the Cougars were able to find success inside and get the shots they wanted, CU had an answer at every turn. Colorado kept a quick pace, effectively getting the ball out in transition without giving the Cougars a chance to recover. 


After a strong performance in her previous outing, CU’s powerful forward, Jade Masogayo, picked up two early fouls that forced her to sit for a large portion of the first half and allowed BYU’s frontcourt presence to take advantage. 


Nyamer Diew stepped up and had a standout performance, finishing with 22 points and zero turnovers off the bench. Diew hit her groove early on with two back-to-back threes and forced BYU to call a timeout as CU had earned its biggest lead of the game. 


Colorado head coach JR Payne utilized the productivity of her freshmen in this conference showdown, with Tabitha Betson providing energy off the bench and a body on the defensive end amid Masogayo’s foul trouble.


In the third quarter, the home team came out firing and went on a run, forcing CU to call a timeout after the lead had been cut to two. Payne’s squad had no answers for BYU’s new zone defense. However, the Buffs stayed competitive thanks to BYU shooting just 9-for-33 from three in the game. 


The Buffs led by two after three quarters, boosted by a near-perfect mark from the free throw line. They shot 93% in the game and 100% in the second half. 


The fourth quarter finished with a bang, as the two conference foes traded back-and-forth buckets without missing a beat. BYU was able to dominate the interior, piling up blocks after Masogayo had to take a seat on the bench with only 17 minutes played. 


CU had the opportunity to put the game away for good with 10 seconds left, but a miscommunication led to a disastrous turnover that gave BYU one last chance to get its second conference win of the season. CU came up with the stop and escaped with a narrow win that left fans on the edge of their seats.


The Buffs will return to the CU Events Center to take on the Texas Tech Lady Raiders (14-9, 3-7 Big 12) at 2 pm M.T. on Sunday, Feb. 2. 

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