BYU Women Defeat Houston For First Big 12 Tournament Victory

BYU women’s basketball is advancing in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

The No. 9-seed Cougars defeated the No. 16-seed Houston, 76-66.

BYU 76, Houston 66

Lee Cummard’s team advances to the second round of the Women’s Big 12 Tournament to face No. 8 Utah tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/J1qTQntiMU

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 4, 2026

2026 Big 12 Tournament: BYU women’s basketball defeats Houston, 76-66

It’s BYU’s first-ever victory at the Big 12 Women’s Tournament, since joining the league in 2023. BYU was previously 0-2 in the Big 12 Tournament games.

BYU had a balanced scoring effort with four players in double-figures, led by All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Olivia Hamlin, scoring a team-high 16 points off the bench.

The offense struggled to get going in the first 20 minutes for both teams, as the Cougar squads combined for 21 turnovers in the first half. Then BYU found its offensive rhythm in the second 20 minutes and pulled away.

“Big 12 game, real physical, and in the first half, (Houston) did a good job of speeding us up. In the second half, we did a good job of kind of settling in and getting catches and initiating offense where we wanted to,” said BYU coach Lee Cummard. “They turned us over 15 times in the first half to only seven in the second half, which was huge for us.”

Starting lineup for the BYU Cougars (with the custom court designs). pic.twitter.com/aJlMyv1N8y

— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL) March 4, 2026

BYU shot 53% from the field in the second half, while Houston shot 32%.

First Team All-Big 12 selection Delaney Gibb scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out three assists in 34 minutes, while navigating foul trouble with four fouls.

NCAA Tournament hopes stay alive

The win improves BYU’s overall record to 21-10 this season. It was a critical win to keep BYU’s hopes of an at-large NCAA Tournament bid alive.

Houston entered Wednesday ranked No. 182 in the NET, so BYU avoided the landmine and advanced to the second round, where it will face in-state rival Utah on Thursday.

“I’ve said what I’ve said, I think we’re 7-1 against those that are on the bubble. But truthfully, we’ve got a game tomorrow against a team that’s on the bubble. We have to take care of our business there. We just need to handle our business, and let’s go from there.”

BYU versus Utah will tip off on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

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