Colorado Falls to No. 16 Baylor, 56-52

Thursday, January 8

Waco, Texas

6:00 PM

Colorado

11-5,2-2Big 12

#16 Baylor

14-3,3-1Big 12

Colorado

Baylor

January 08, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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By: Macy Mohlenkamp, Athletic Communications Associate

WACO, Texas – The Colorado women's basketball team (11-5, 2-2 Big 12) fell to No. 16 Baylor (14-3, 3-1 Big 12), 56-52, at Foster Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 8.

The Buffs played a physical game and kept the Bears close, with the game seeing four lead changes and seven ties. CU and Baylor struggled to score in the second quarter, holding each other to single digits. The Buffs came within four with 26 seconds to go and nearly tied it up. Junior guards Zyanna Walker and Desiree Wooten led the Buffs in scoring with 16 and 13 points, respectively; CU finished down by just four, 56-52.

"That was like a heavyweight fight. Two very good teams, very good defensive teams, very good rebounding teams, went toe to toe tonight, and I'm actually really proud of both teams," head coach JR Payne stated. "It was great competition – good, clean, aggressive play on both sides of the floor. [...] To out-rebound these guys and have 22 offensive rebounds against Baylor is something that probably is not done very often, and so I'm really proud of that. [...] Twenty-eight percent from the floor isn't going to be successful very often, but the fact that we just played so hard and defended and all the other things gave us a chance to win. So, I'm really proud of how we played tonight."

The Buffs out-rebounded the Bears, 48-40, totaling 22 offensive rebounds. CU also had more steals (10-5), more points in the paint (32-18), and more second-chance points (17-8) than BU.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first quarter saw a slow start, with neither team scoring for the first two minutes until Baylor made a free throw (1-0, BU). The Bears made a three, but Wooten made a jumper in the paint to get the Buffs on the board (4-2, CU). Baylor extended their lead with two more jumpers (8-2, BU). Wooten ended the run with a three-point jumper off a turnover (8-5, BU). The Buffs went on a five-point run after a Baylor jumper, including two jumpers from senior forward Anaëlle Dutat and Walker, as well as a Walker free throw (10-10). The Bears made a set of free throws, but freshman forward Logyn Greer tied the game again from a layup, assisted by junior guard Maeve McErlane (12-12). With one minute remaining, the Buffs and the Bears traded points with Wooten and McErlane scoring for the Buffs (16-16). The Bears made a final layup to take the lead, 18-16 (BU).

Walker opened scoring in the second quarter with a layup (18-18). The Colorado defense held off Baylor for three and a half minutes until the Bears made a layup (20-18, BU). The Buffs took the lead from a Greer free throw and a Dutat jumper, assisted by sophomore forward Tabitha Betson (21-20, CU). The Bears made a three-point jumper, but Dutat tied the game with a final jumper, 23-23.

The second half began with a free throw from Walker and a jumper from Wooten in the paint (26-23, CU). The Buffs maintained the lead after the Bears made a jumper of their own (26-25, CU). The following two minutes were scoreless as the teams headed into the media timeout with Colorado ahead by one. Greer assisted freshman center Jade Crook with a jumper in the paint, but the Bears made their own jumper (28-27, CU). The Buffs went ahead by four from two Greer free throws and one from senior forward Jade Masogayo (31-27, CU). The Buffs and the Bears traded jumpers, with Masogayo scoring in the paint (33-29, CU). Baylor went on a seven-point run, but a jumper from Walker ended the streak (36-35, BU). The Bears ended the quarter with a three-point jumper (39-35, BU).

The quarter saw an early three from Baylor, but the Buffs responded with a Dutat jumper in the paint (42-37, BU). The Bears made two free throws, but Walker made a jumper 10 seconds later (44-39, BU). Baylor made another jumper before the Buffs went on a five-point run from a layup and two free throws from Walker, as well as a Dutat free throw (46-44, BU). Two more Walker free throws ended a 5-0 run from Baylor (51-46, BU). Wooten answered three Baylor points with a three-point jumper and a free throw (54-50, BU). With three seconds remaining, Masogayo made a jumper off a turnover, but a foul sent Baylor to the line for two free throws, ending the game, 56-52 (BU).

UP NEXT:

The Buffs will travel to Stillwater, Okla., to face Oklahoma State on Sunday, Jan. 11, at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tip-off is set for 12 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 Zyanna Walker led the game in points with 16, as well as four rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Jr. G Desiree Wooten recorded 13 points, four rebounds, one steal and one assist.
Sr. F Anaëlle Dutat tallied 12 rebounds, nine points, two steals and two assists.
Sr. F Jade Masogayo had nine rebounds, five points, one block, one steal and one assist.
Fr. F Logyn Greer scored five points and had five rebounds, one block and one assist.
So. F Tabitha Betson saw two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Fr. C Jade Crook scored two points and had one rebound and one steal.
Jr. G Maeve McErlane had two points, one assist and one steal.
Fr. G Erianna Gooden had two rebounds and one steal.
Fr. F Sophie Zadel saw two assists and one rebound.
For the Bears, Yuting Deng had 13 points and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs had 12 rebounds.

GAME NOTES:

The Buffs move to 8-15 all-time against the Bears.

All-time, the Buffs move to 111-151 in Big 12 play.

CU had more rebounds (48-40), points in the paint (32-18), second chance points (17-8) and steals (10-5) than the Bears.

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.