Arizona began the game with a 14-3 lead, Colorado tied it at halftime and then rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to defeat the Wildcats 61-58. It was reported on the ESPN+ game telecast that ESPN women's bracketology Charlie Creme projected Arizona in the NCAA Tournament field with a win over Colorado.
The door was opened for Arizona, who was the second team out, when Virginia Tech who was Creme's first team out lost in the opening game in the ACC Tournament. The loss to Colorado almost certainly ends Arizona's four-year streak of making and winning a game in the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona led 14-7 after the first quarter before Colorado outscored the Wildcats 19-12 in the second quarter. The Wildcats outscored the Buffaloes 22-14 in the third quarter and extended their lead to 50-40 when Skylar Jones had a layup after an offensive rebound on Arizona's first possession of the fourth quarter.
Colorado scored the next six points and extended the run to 14-3 to take their first lead of the second half at 54-53. Jada Williams answered with a three-point shot, but Colorado scored the next six points to take control of the game and never trailed after that to advance to the second round against top-seed TCU.
Arizona is 19-13 overall after the loss and will have to wait until March 16 to see if they earn an NCAA Tournament berth. Colorado who is also competing for a berth swept the two games with Arizona this season. Arizona entered today 56th in the NCAA Net Ratings and Colorado is 58th.
Jones led all scorers with 17. Williams was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 13. Colorado freshman Tabitha Powell with 16 points and seven rebounds and redshirt freshman Kennedy Sanders with 14 points, including 2-4 on three-point attempts led Colorado in the victory.