Colorado Hosts Arizona for Conference Home Opener

Wednesday, December 31

Boulder, Colo.

7:00 PM

Colorado

Arizona

Tickets From $15 - $40

December 29, 2025 | Women's Basketball

Colorado Notes Get Tickets Donate To Women's Basketball

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

GAME #14 • Wednesday, December 31 • 7 p.m. MT
CU Events Center, Boulder, Colo.
Colorado (9-4, 0-1 Big 12) vs. Arizona (9-3, 0-1 Big 12)
TIP: 7:02 p.m. MT
WATCH: ESPN+ (Thad Anderson, Kami Carmann) https://bit.ly/3YemLUE
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/4b8lZjq
SERIES RECORD: CU Leads, 22-10 (.688)
LAST MEETING: W, 61-58 (March 6, 2025 • Kansas City, Mo.)
STREAK: Won 3 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 6-4

BOULDER – The Colorado women's basketball team (9-4, 0-1 Big 12) is back at home this week to take on Arizona (9-3, 0-1 Big 12) for the Buffs' conference home opener on Dec. 31 at CU Events Center at 7 p.m. MT.

The Black and Gold will face the Wildcats for the 33rd time in program history. CU has won the last three-straight games against Arizona – including a win in last season's Big 12 Championship to advance the Buffs to the quarterfinals (61-58, Mar. 6).

Before a short break for the holidays, the Buffs traveled to Tempe, Ariz., to take on Arizona State in their conference opener. CU came back from a 15-point first-quarter deficit – narrowing the lead to two in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter – but foul trouble and turnovers plagued the Black and Gold, ultimately falling, 79-63. The Buffs still scored more points in the paint (36-28) and more second-chance points (11-5) than the Sun Devils.

TIP-OFF (TL;DR)

CU is led by 10th-year head coach JR Payne, who has led the Buffs to a 173-120 (.590) record as CU's eighth head women's basketball coach. Coach Payne has been extended through the 2028 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 109-150 (.421) overall in Big 12 conference play.
With the re-addition of So. F Tabitha Betson to the 2025-26 roster, the Buffs return four from last year's team, also including Sr. F Jade Masogayo, So. G Kennedy Sanders and 5th C JoJo Nworie. Betson returns from a semester at home with her family after some time to recharge.
Colorado welcomes 10 newcomers for the 2025-26 season, five transfers and five freshmen. The five transfers include Jr. G Zyanna Walker (Kansas State), Jr. G Desiree Wooten (North Texas), Jr. G Claire O'Connor (Gonzaga), Jr. G Maeve McErlane (DePaul) and Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat (Rhode Island). The five freshmen include G Erianna Gooden (Fork Smith, Ark./Northside H.S.), C Jade Crook (Albury, Australia/Basketball Australia Center of Excellence/Lake Ginninderra College), G Isa Hämäläinen (Lorentzweiler, Luxembourg/European School of Luxembourg 1), F Logyn Greer (Lansdowne, Pa./Friends' Central School) and F Sophie Zadel (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights H.S).
Jr. G Zyanna Walker is seventh in conference for steals per game with 2.4. She is also 21st in the Big 12 for assists per game (3.1) and 18th for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3).
Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat is third in conference for rebounds per game with 8.2 and tied for ninth for steals per game (2.2).
Fr. F Logyn Greer is 24th in conference for rebounds per game with 6.0 and 19th for blocks per game (0.8).
Jr. G Desiree Wooten is tied for 21st in the Big 12 for three-point field goals per game (1.5) and tied for 23rd for steals per game (1.7).
So. G Kennedy Sanders is also tied for 15th in the Big 12 for steals per game with 1.9.
As a team, the Buffs are second in the Big 12 for steals per game (11.77), fourth for free throw percentage (73.5%), fifth for rebounding margin (9.3), sixth for offensive rebounds per game (13.8), and eighth for scoring defense (59.1).

ROAM WITH THE BUFFS: The Buffs' game at Arizona 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.

WHAT TEAM? WILDCATS!: The Buffs hold a 22-10 record over the Wildcats and boast a 13-3 record against them when playing in the CU Events Center. In a stretch from 1989-2015, CU won 11 straight games against Arizona. This is the third time the Buffs have played the Wildcats on New Year's Eve, each time playing in Boulder to ring in the new year (2017-18, 1989-1990).

FIGURE THAT: Four Buffs scored in double-figures against the Sun Devils (Dec. 21), the sixth time this season CU has had four or more players with double-digit points. At ASU, Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat had 12 points, Sr. F Jade Masogayo had 14, Jr. G Zyanna Walker had 15 and Jr. G Desiree Wooten had 11 points.

MILESTONE WATCH: Sr. F Jade Masogayo has 90 career steals, 10 away from 100. Jr. G Maeve McErlane has 85 rebounds, 15 away from 100. Fr. F Logyn Greer has 73 rebounds, 27 away from 100.

MILESTONE CHECK: Jr. G Desiree Wooten reached 700 career points against ASU (Dec. 21).

ROLLING DEEP: The Buffs have seen five different starting lineups through 13 games this season, with nine of the 14 rostered players seeing starts.

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.