Buffs Best Bearcats, 79-68

Saturday, January 3

Boulder, Colo.

1:00 PM

Colorado

11-4,2-1Big 12

Cincinnati

5-10,0-3Big 12

Cincinnati

Colorado

January 03, 2026 | Women's Basketball

Box Score Stats Quotes Donate to Women's Basketball Get Tickets Highlights Press Conference

By: Malala Pyle, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

BOULDER – The Colorado women's basketball team (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) defeated Cincinnati (5-10, 0-3 Big 12), 79-68, at CU Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 3.

The Colorado Buffaloes saw a slow start to the game, trailing the Bearcats until sophomore forward Tabitha Betson tied the game at the end of the quarter (17-17). The momentum shifted for the Buffs as they battled for the lead until the end of the first half, establishing a nine-point lead off a 28-point second quarter. The Black and Gold maintained the lead throughout the rest of the game, ending the game ahead by 11.

"Great game, man, that was a battle," head coach JR Payne stated. "I knew that if we brought our work hats and kind of knuckled up, that it was going to be a really tough matchup because these are two very tough, physical, athletic teams, and I'm actually really proud of both teams. I thought it was a great matchup, great game. We had, again, a very balanced stat sheet, which we love to have. It's great for us when it looks like that."

The Buffs had more assists (15-10) and steals (10-5) than the Bearcats. Colorado also had more bench points (40-19), points in the paint (38-22) and rebounds (36-34) than UC.

"I thought [Desiree Wooten] gave us great composure and aggressive offense off the bench like she always has," Payne continued. "I thought [Jade Masogayo] battled on the glass. [Jade Crook] came in and gave us a real lift with some great cutting. [Zyanna Walker], like the iron woman, having to play 37 minutes at almost every position on the floor. [...] But [I'm] just proud of how we played. We really competed, and we talked about that before the game. We need to compete on every possession. And I think with absolute certainty we did that, which was great."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Bearcats opened scoring with a three-point jumper (3-0, CIN). Fr. F Logyn Greer quickly made a layup, assisted by Masogayo (3-2, CIN). A free-throw increased Cincinnati's lead to two, but the Buffs took the lead from back-to-back layups from Masogayo and Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat (6-4, CU). The Bearcats went on a 7-0 run, but a second-chance jumper from Wooten brought the Black and Gold within three (11-8, CIN). Cincinnati scored off a jumper and sent the teams into the media timeout (13-8, CIN). Crook ended the scoring drought for the Buffs with a layup, assisted by Greer (13-10, CIN). Wooten brought Colorado within one after she was sent to the line for two free throws (13-12, CIN). Betson assisted Dutat in a layup in the paint after the Bearcats made a tip-in layup (15-14, CIN). Cincinnati went up by three after two free throws, but with one second left in the quarter, Betson made a three-point jumper and tied the game, 17-17.

Crook scored early in the second quarter with a layup in the paint (19-17, CU). Cincinnati made a three-point jumper, which was answered by another layup and a free throw from Crook (22-20, CU). Walker made a layup after a foul sent the Bearcats to the line, where they made one of their two free throws (24-21, CU). Jr. G Maeve McErlane increased the Buffs' lead to four from a free throw, but Cincinnati went on a 5-0 run to regain the lead (26-25, CIN). The Buffs responded with five of their own points, including a Wooten three-point jumper and a Masogayo layup (30-26, CU). The Bearcats tied the game heading into the media timeout (30-30). The Buffs and the Bearcats each made a free throw, with Walker scoring for Colorado (31-31). Betson made a three-point jumper, followed by a steal and a layup from Walker (36-31, CU). Cincinnati made their own three, but Nworie answered with a jumper, assisted by McErlane. The Buffs and the Bearcats traded a pair of free throws, with McErlane scoring for Colorado. The Black and Gold improved their run to seven points, from Betson and Dutat free throws, as well as a Crook layup, to end the half, 45-36 (CU).

Cincinnati opened the half with four points, but a free throw from Walker ended the run (46-40, CU). McErlane assisted Dutat on a corner three (49-40, CU). A Fr. G Erianna Gooden steal converted to a layup from Wooten and extended the Colorado lead to 11 (51-40, CU). The Black and Gold returned to the court for two Wooten free throws and a layup from Dutat, assisted by Gooden from a steal (55-40, CU). The Bearcats scored for the first time in over four minutes with a jumper, but Wooten responded with a layup (57-42, CU). Wooten was sent to the line where she made a pair of free throws, followed by a set from Cincinnati (59-44, CU). Colorado and Cincinnati traded two more sets of free throws, with Wooten and Masogayo scoring for the Buffs (63-48, CU). Walker ended a six-point run from the Bearcats with a layup, but Cincinnati made a layup with three seconds remaining, ending the quarter, 65-56 (CU).

Masogayo made a turnaround jumper 10 seconds into the fourth quarter (67-56, CU). A set of free throws from Gooden and a Walker layup, assisted by Greer, extended the run to six points (71-56, CU). Cincinnati ended the run with a free throw, but Masogayo extended the lead to 16 points with a driving layup (73-57, CU). The Bearcats went on an 8-0 run to decrease the Buffaloes' lead (73-65, CU). Dutat ended the scoring run with a layup off a turnover (75-65, CU). Cincinnati made a three-point jumper, but the Buffs scored four points from two Wooten free throws and a Walker jumper to end the game, 79-68 (CU).

UP NEXT:

The Buffs will travel to face Baylor at the Foster Pavillion in Waco, Texas, on Thursday, Jan. 8. Tip-off is set for 6 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 recorded a season-high 19 points and a career-high 10 free throws (10-of-10). She also tallied four rebounds and one steal.

Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat had 12 points, seven points, two assists and one steal.

Jr. G Zyanna Walker tallied 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Sr. F Jade Masogayo recorded 10 points, six points, two assists and one block.

So. F Tabitha Betson had eight points, two rebounds, one steal and one assist.

Fr. C Jade Crook led scoring for the Buffs in the first half for the first time this season with nine points. She totaled nine points (4-of-4), two assists, one steal, one block and one rebound.

Fr. F Logyn Greer scored two points, and she had two rebounds and two assists

Jr. G Maeve McErlane had four assists, three points, two rebounds and one steal.

Fifth C JoJo Nworie scored two points.

Fr. G Erianna Gooden scored two points, and she had two assists and two steals.

For the Bearcats, Caliyah Devillasee scored 17 points and had five assists.

GAME NOTES:

The Buffs improve to 2-1 all-time against the Bearcats.

All-time, the Buffs move to 111-150 in Big 12 play.

This is the ninth game this season with four or more players in double-digit points, and the Buffs are 7-2 in those games.

CU had more bench points (40-19), rebounds (36-34), assists (15-10) and steals (10-5) than the Bearcats.

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.