FORT WORTH, TEXAS - The Colorado women’s basketball team (10-3, 1-1 Big 12) opened the new year in Fort Worth, Texas, with a 63-50 loss against No. 11 TCU (14-1, 2-0 Big 12). A Big 12 matchup featuring a few big names in women’s hoops, the Buffs had a tall order awaiting them in the new year.
“I was really proud of how our team played,” said head coach JR Payne. “I thought we battled, I thought we defended very well, which hasn’t always been the case this year.”
Having defeated a talented West Virginia team in a statement win before the break, the Buffaloes entered this contest knowing they could compete with high-caliber teams. Colorado started off on a good note, trading leads with the Horned Frogs throughout the first quarter. Jade Masogayo looked aggressive from the jump and did her best to keep TCU’s 6-foot-7 forward Sedona Prince’s offense to a minimum.
Against a disciplined squad that has only averaged 11 turnovers per game so far this season, CU was able to force six quick ones and put pressure on TCU to think twice when moving the ball. Masogayo refused to be denied around the basket and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
The challenge presented on the defensive end of the floor for the Buffs was led by star guard Hailey Van Lith. A 2024 Olympian, Van Lith has also played for powerhouses LSU and Louisville over the course of her collegiate career. Having shown her prowess as a true playmaker, CU’s Johanna Teder and Kindyll Wetta were tasked with the responsibility of containing her. The Buffs applied full-court pressure after made baskets and caused the Horned Frogs to miss some easy looks, letting their frustrations show.
With the officials calling a tight game, Colorado’s bench was forced to rise to the challenge early and find support elsewhere with Wetta’s foul trouble adding up. Kennedy Sanders made the most of her limited playing time, knocking down two triples and finishing with eight points in nine minutes.
“I thought our team played very fearlessly,” Payne said. “We’re built from a blue-collar cloth and we don’t really fear anybody and we wanted to be aggressive.”
Tied at 19, Colorado’s turnovers were detrimental and prevented them from truly being able to keep their momentum. The Horned Frogs started to settle in as the black and gold struggled to see shots fall, which allowed TCU to put together an 8-0 run and finish the first half up six.
CU’s offense looked frantic in the third quarter, as sharpshooter Frida Formann couldn’t find good looks from the perimeter and the rest of the team couldn’t convert in the paint. TCU leads the Big 12 with 6.9 blocks per game and protected the rim well on Wednesday night; Prince finished with three of her team’s seven blocks. The lead stretched to double-digits as Van Lith showed her playmaking talent by penetrating and kicking out to her teammates.
Down 12 early in the fourth quarter, Lior Garzon’s first three of the game kept the Buffs within striking distance. Increasing pressure in the backcourt, Wetta picked up her fourth foul and was forced to take a seat back on the bench. Teder contributed to a 7-0 CU run that injected some life back into her team despite Formann going 0-5 from the field on the night. Despite being in a position to fight their way back into the game, the Buffaloes weren’t able to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them. An inopportune scoring drought allowed TCU to scrape by and close out the game with a 63-50 victory.
TCU improved to 13-0 on their home court this season, holding opponents to an average of just 53 points.
Colorado’s busy schedule will be a way to move on from this loss quickly, with a quick turnaround at Baylor on Saturday and a homestand next week against UCF and Kansas. Watch the Buffs take on the Bears on ESPN+ at 2:00 p.m. MT on Saturday.
Cover photo via @cubuffswbb/X
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