Mizzou women’s basketball’s season ends vs. BYU in second round of the WBIT
Missouri women’s basketball’s season came to a close Monday night as BYU used a barrage of 3-pointers and a dominant defensive performance to hand the Tigers a 93-75 loss in the second round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament in Provo, Utah.
The Tigers finished the season 17-17 in Kellie Harper’s first year as head coach, while BYU improved to 24-11 and advanced to face Stanford in the quarterfinals.
Missouri entered the matchup looking to build on its first-round win over Seton Hall, where it showcased patience and late-game execution. But against a deeper, top-seeded BYU team, the same issues that plagued the Tigers throughout the season resurfaced.
Most notably, Missouri struggled to respond to momentum swings.
After keeping the game competitive for the first two minutes, the Tigers allowed a decisive run that flipped the game in BYU’s favor, a familiar pattern in a season marked by inconsistency. Once the Cougars gained control, Missouri was unable to recover.
BYU’s defensive intensity set the tone. The Cougars held Missouri to just 37% shooting from the field, disrupting offensive rhythm and forcing difficult looks throughout the night. Missouri, which found success in the WBIT opener by dictating tempo, never established the same control.
On the other end, BYU executed exactly how it wanted.
Sophomore guard Delaney Gibb delivered a standout performance, knocking down a career-high seven 3-pointers. Her previous high was five. In the process, Gibb surpassed 1,000 career points, becoming the third-fastest player in program history to reach the milestone.
Gibb’s shooting helped fuel multiple BYU runs and prevented Missouri from gaining sustained momentum.
The Cougars also controlled the glass, finishing with 47 rebounds and consistently winning second-chance opportunities.
Missouri’s offensive leaders were unable to find consistent production against BYU’s defense. After leading the Tigers in the opening round, Grace Slaughter faced heavy defensive pressure, while the supporting cast struggled to compensate.
The Tigers’ inability to generate efficient offense mirrored a season-long theme. When shots weren’t falling, Missouri often relied on stretches of individual play rather than sustained execution, a challenge that proved costly against a disciplined BYU team.
In contrast to Missouri’s grind-it-out win over Seton Hall, where the Tigers controlled the fourth quarter, Monday’s game lacked a similar closing push. BYU maintained its intensity throughout.
The loss highlighted the difference in depth between the two teams. BYU’s ability to rotate multiple players and maintain energy on both ends stood in contrast to Missouri’s shorter rotation, particularly as the game wore on.
Despite the result, the game capped an eventful first season under Harper.
Missouri navigated a challenging Southeastern Conference schedule, faced some of the nation’s top teams and still secured a postseason appearance. The WBIT provided a different level of competition, and the Tigers showed flashes of their potential, particularly in their first-round performance.
However, Monday’s loss underscored the areas still needing growth, including consistency, depth, defensive rebounding and the ability to withstand runs.
For a team transitioning under a new coaching staff, the season offered both progress and clear lessons.
And while the final result in Provo marked the end of the Tigers’ season and postseason run, it also provided a benchmark — one that highlights what Missouri must address moving forward as it builds into Harper’s second season.
Copyright 2026 Columbia Missourian
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Mizzou women’s basketball’s season ends vs. BYU in second round of the WBIT."