BYU Storms Back To Take Down Utah At Big 12 Women’s Tournament
Mar 5, 2026, 3:21 PM
BYU women’s basketball is moving on in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
The Cougars took down rival Utah 70-52 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Final: BYU 70, Utah 52
Big-time win for BYU, extending their win streak to five games.
Cougars are advancing to the Quarterfinals to face regular season champion TCU.
BYU went 3-0 against Utah this season. pic.twitter.com/Ap5tAu1dno
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 5, 2026
BYU women’s basketball defeats Utah, 70-52, in the Big 12 Tournament
BYU found themselves down by 11 points early in the third quarter. By the end of the quarter, BYU was up by eight thanks to a 15-0 run that allowed Lee Cummard’s squad to stay in front for good.
BYU outscored Utah in the second half, 43-16.
“I thought we started pretty good, we were engaged on both sides of the ball. Then kind of slipped a little bit towards the tail end of the first quarter and second quarter, where we got a little stagnant,” said BYU head coach Lee Cummard.
“… It was tangibly different in the second half, and I’m really grateful for this group and how connected they are.”
It’s the fifth consecutive win for a BYU team that keeps its NCAA Tournament at-large hopes alive.
Quality victory for NCAA Tournament hopes
Entering Thursday’s second round matchup, ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Creme had BYU as a “First Four Out” team, while Utah was in the “Last Four In” section of his forecast.
There’s still a lot of basketball to be played between now and when the NCAA Selection Committee puts together the bracket, but it was an important victory for BYU.
First Team All-Big 12 selection Delaney Gibb finished with a team-high 19 points, eight assists, and five rebounds, while playing in all 40 minutes of the game.
Arielle Mackey-Williams, who has battled numerous injuries in her career, provided what Lee Cummard said was “poise and composure” to BYU during its second-half comeback.
Mackey-Williams played 15 minutes and scored seven points.
Utah guard Lani White led all scorers with 20 points in the defeat, as BYU finishes the year with a perfect 3-0 record against the Utes this season.
BYU opened the game red-hot from three-point range, hitting six 3-pointers in the first quarter. Then in the second quarter, they were 0-for-6 from beyond the arc, allowing Utah to build a double-digit lead.
In the second half, the threes started to fall again for BYU, as they hit 5-of-11 from deep for a game total of 11-of-30.
BYU improves to 22-10 overall in the 2025-26 season.
Next up: TCU in the Big 12 Quarterfinals
One piece that’s missing from BYU’s NCAA resume this season is a Quad One victory. BYU is 0-4 this year in games against Quad One opponents.
The Cougars will get as big an opportunity as the Big 12 offers this season when they face regular-season champion and No. 10-ranked TCU in the quarterfinals.
Tip-off for Friday’s game between BYU and TCU will be at 12:30 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU. It will be the first linear broadcast game for BYU women’s basketball this season.
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.
