In an exciting match at the Big 12 Tournament, the ninth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes managed a thrilling victory over the eighth-seeded Arizona Wildcats, finishing with a narrow 61-58 win. Freshmen stars Tabitha Benson and Kennedy Sanders combined their efforts to score a total of 30 points, leading their team effectively. With this victory, Colorado, now boasting a 20-11 record, advanced to face the top-seeded team, TCU, in the quarterfinals on Friday. In their previous encounter on January 1, Colorado fell to TCU with a score of 63-50.
Benson finished the game with 16 points, while Sanders contributed 14. On the other side, Skylar Jones was the leading scorer for Arizona with 17 points, supported by Jada Williams who, playing in her hometown, added 13 points. Isis Beh was also influential with 10 rebounds and nine points, but it wasn’t enough for Arizona, which ended its season with a record of 19-13.
The Wildcats initially had an eight-point advantage going into the final quarter. However, seven points from Sanders and a late rally by Lior Garzon, who scored all nine of her points in the fourth quarter, helped the Buffaloes to turn things around. Arizona struggled in the final quarter, managing to make only four of their 16 attempted shots.
Garzon’s contributions included a game-tying shot facilitated by a neat assist from Kindyll Wetta, followed by a decisive midrange jumper that granted Colorado the lead with just 1 minute, 28 seconds remaining on the clock. Wetta was also vital with a pair of crucial free throws, offset briefly by a basket from Williams. After Betson converted one of her two free throws, Arizona took a timeout with 12.8 seconds left. The Wildcats managed to set up an open three-point attempt for Jones, but her shot hit the rim, culminating in Colorado’s victory.
The teams were locked in a tie at halftime. Arizona managed an 8-0 run sparked by consecutive three-pointers from freshman Lauryn Swann, which gave the Wildcats a nine-point lead midway through the third period. This led to Arizona entering the final quarter with a score advantage of 48-40. Earlier, Arizona had taken a strong start with a 14-3 run to open the game, but Colorado managed to close the first quarter scoring the last four points. They again finished strong in the second quarter to tie the game at 26 by halftime.
In an evenly matched battle, both teams struggled with ball control, each committing 18 turnovers. However, this was a noticeable improvement for Colorado, which had 15 fewer turnovers compared to their first-round win against Houston.
