BYU Looks To Turn Page From Rivalry Heartbreak At Big 12 Tournament
Mar 4, 2025, 12:24 PM
BYU women's basketball head coach Amber Whiting is turning the page to the Big 12 Tournament. (Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
(Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s basketball enters the Big 12 Tournament after a gutwrenching loss at rival Utah last Saturday.
Utah’s Maty Wilke buried a half-court as time expired in overtime to give the Utes a 76-73 win over BYU.
The OFFICIAL 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship bracket. pic.twitter.com/0VyKCh6TsV
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 3, 2025
The loss capped off BYU’s regular season with a 13-16 record. BYU enters the postseason on a four-game losing streak.
“I talked to them after the game and was like, let it burn. Don’t take it into Monday. You know what I mean,” said BYU women’s basketball head coach Amber Whiting. “But then our AD came in and was really specific, and he even said, ‘Don’t leave this locker room until you can just let this game go.’ Which I really appreciated because that is an emotional ending. That’s a rival game, and it’s a hard way to end it.”
Despite the recent string of losses since experiencing a breakthrough win over nationally-ranked Oklahoma State on February 15, Whiting’s team can only turn the page to the postseason.
The Big 12 Tournament poses an opportunity for BYU to end the season on a high note with a potential run.
“We have a couple of girls with bangs and bruises that are beat up from that (Utah) game, so we’re just trying to make sure we get the most out of practice,” Whiting said. “But I feel like they were locked in and ready to go.”
BYU enters the Big 12 Tournament with the 12-seed in the 16-team field. The Cougars will need to win five games to claim the automatic bid from the Big 12 to the NCAA Tournament.
BYU women’s basketball takes on UCF to open the Big 12 Tournament
However, the first game they must worry about is Wednesday morning against No. 13-seed UCF at 10 a.m. (MST)/11 a.m. (CST) on ESPN+.
BYU women’s basketball defeated UCF 73-66 in the lone meeting during the regular season on February 5 in Provo.
Headed to Kansas City🛫 pic.twitter.com/kHaFPYrsNb
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) March 3, 2025
“We have to limit their offensive rebounds because I know they love those,” Whiting said on the keys against UCF. “I feel like we’ve got to take care of the ball and not give them opportunities to score. … Then for us, I feel like we have to start strong. We’ve had a couple of games where we haven’t started as strong. So I just feel like if we start strong, be aggressive, I feel like we’ll be in a really good spot.”
Delaney Gibb leads the way for BYU
BYU will need their star freshman, Delaney Gibb, to carry them if they hope to make a run in Kansas City.
Gibb became only the second freshman in Big 12 history to earn at least 10 Freshman of the Week awards during the regular season. She scored a career-high 36 points in the loss at Utah on Saturday.
The 5-foot-10 freshman is averaging 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 46% from the field this season.
If BYU gets by UCF, they will face No. 5-seed Kansas State on Thursday.
No. 12 BYU vs. No. 13 UCF
First Round, 2025 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship
Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Tip-Off: 10 a.m. (MST)/11 a.m. (CST)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Venue: T-Mobile Center
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
