When Utah and BYU last met in women’s basketball on Jan. 31, both the Utes and Cougars were among the notable teams to watch in the race for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth.
Things have changed a lot in the past three weeks, though.
Since BYU rallied to beat Utah 77-65 in Provo in that first matchup between the two rivals, the Cougars have gone just 1-4.
The Utes, meanwhile, have gone 2-3.
Now, both Utah (17-10, 8-7) and BYU (17-10, 6-9) are being viewed as outsiders in the latest NCAA Tournament bubble watch.
They’ll meet again Saturday afternoon (2 p.m. MST, ESPN+), when the Utes host the Cougars at the Huntsman Center.
It’s a matchup likely to have postseason implications for both schools, from Big 12 tournament seeding to potentially staying alive in the NCAA Tournament hunt.
“There’s a lot of outside noise with them being our rival and everything. And now that they’re in our conference, it means more than just the rival game,” Utah senior guard Maty Wilke said.
“But I think the main thing for us is to just play at our best and compete and just play with joy. (We’re) in the part of the season where it kind of makes or breaks you. I think for us, we’ve been working on a lot of ourselves and just the toughness part of it.”
In ESPN’s latest update, they have the Utes as the first team out of the NCAA field — if that holds true, it would snap a four-year streak of making the NCAA Tournament.
The winner of Saturday’s game will help its cause to stay alive in the NCAA bubble picture.
“Since they beat us already down in Provo, I think our kids are motivated, and we want to make sure we show up with our best foot being put forward.”
— Utah coach Gavin Petersen
The loser, however, is all but out of NCAA contention with less than two weeks left in the regular season, unless they win the Big 12 tournament the first week in March.
Either way, things are trending downward for both schools.
That adds more weight to an already-important matchup Saturday.
“Since they beat us already down in Provo, I think our kids are motivated, and we want to make sure we show up with our best foot being put forward,” Utah coach Gavin Petersen said. “They’re playing hard, we’re playing hard, and we both have a lot to play for.”
Utah led through three quarters when the two teams met at the Marriott Center, but the Cougars outscored the Utes 29-13 in the fourth quarter to pull off the comeback. Brinley Cannon hit six 3-pointers to pace BYU, which scored 52 second-half points.
“First half, we were executing at a high pace. They made some adjustments, and they got momentum swinging on their side in that third quarter, then into the fourth quarter. And then momentum is a hard thing to kind of contain at that point,” Petersen said.
“We’ve got to do a good job of just staying steady, buying into the game plan, both offensively and defensively, and just value each possession.”
Turnovers have been one of the biggest issues for Utah all season, and that was the case again in the team’s most recent game, a 73-55 loss at Oklahoma State on Monday. In that game, the Utes turned it over a season-high-tying 24 times, which the Cowgirls converted into 26 points.
“We’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the basketball,” Peterson said. “That’s been our Achilles heel all season long, and it’s something that they just got to decide to do.”
For Utah senior guards Wilke and Lani White, three weeks ago was their first loss to BYU, and it was the Cougars’ first win in the series since Dec. 4, 2021.
White and Wilke led the charge for Utah in that game. White ended the day with 20 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Wilke added 18 points and three rebounds.
Both Wilke and White stressed the importance of coming out mentally and physically stronger this time against the Cougars.
“Last game, we weren’t able to finish it. Unfortunately, they pulled it from underneath us, and that was solely on us,” White said. “No one can take that away from us. We’ve been trying to work on getting tougher mentally and physically so we can come out with these wins. We’re focusing on us and playing Utah basketball.”
When BYU and Utah last played at the Huntsman Center on March 1, 2025, Wilke was the hero as she hit a halfcourt heave at the buzzer in overtime to lift the Utes to a 76-73 win.
It was one of the most iconic moments in a rivalry that has seen plenty of highlights.
Petersen called it “kind of surreal,” and with it being Senior Night, there was a bigger magnitude and more pressure in a contest where Utah was the favorite, but BYU rallied to force an extra session.
Then, the shot happened.
“It literally was like slow motion for a split second. When it left her hand, I’m like, ‘Ooh, that has a shot. I’ve never been in a game like that in all my 27 years around women’s basketball. And it’s cool to be on the winning side of one of those heaves,” Petersen said.
White wasn’t at Utah last year, as she spent the season playing for Virginia Tech before transferring back to the U., but she watched the entire game and remembers calling Wilke after she hit the game-winner.
“I was like, ‘Dude, holy crap.’ Like, if anyone would make that shot, it’d be Maty and in such a timely manner. I was really proud of her, really happy for the team. … That rivalry will always stick with me regardless of wherever I was at. I was really happy that Utah won that night.”
“The shot was great, but I think the one thing that stood out to me was how many people it affected — it’s bigger than my one shot. It’s bigger than me scoring 3 points, bigger than that one possession of the game."
— Maty Wilke on her game-winner vs. BYU at the Huntsman Center
Wilke, who hails from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, has come to understand what the rivalry means to the state over her past three years at Utah.
“The shot was great, but I think the one thing that stood out to me was how many people it affected — it’s bigger than my one shot. It’s bigger than me scoring 3 points, bigger than that one possession of the game,” she said.
“It was great for our team, but also great for the state of Utah and all the Utah fans. I think that, for me, was really cool, (to) have that legacy within the state, and just seeing how many people were so excited. It wasn’t just like our team won, it felt like our whole city won, and all the Utah fans won. So that was just really cool to be a part of.”
It won’t be Senior Day this time around — that comes next week for the Utes — but the pair will lead Utah against the Cougars for the final time Saturday.
That is, unless they face each other again in the Big 12 tournament in two weeks.
Either way, Saturday’s matchup is important on a variety of levels.
“The Holy War is everything for us here in Utah,” White said. “I’m really trying to play with a chip on my shoulder this game and leave it all out there. I don’t want to leave this school and say, ‘Dang, I wish I would have played harder that game.’ So hopefully we can come out with a win playing good basketball.”
Wilke said the rivalry is “unlike anything I’ve been a part of” and recalled her first experience being a part of it in December 2023 and the atmosphere at the Huntsman Center that day in an 87-68 Utah win.
“My first game here, I walked out and before we played them, it was just packed. That’s when I was like, ‘Oh, this is a legit thing.’ To see that kind of carry over with basketball is really, really cool,” Wilke said.
“No matter where we are, no matter what the other team’s record is, you always know it’s gonna be a game. Not only is it fun for us to be a part of it, to compete, I would think it’s very fun for our fans to also be a part of.”
