BYU, the No. 12 seed, takes on No. 13 UCF on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. MT in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

The Big 12 schedule has produced some highlights — an upset of No. 20 Oklahoma State, a modest two-game win streak in early February — but the Cougars are tired of losing close games.

Whiting and her team have suffered seven single-digit losses in Big 12 play, including a one-point loss at home to Colorado, an overtime defeat at home to Arizona State and last Saturday’s heartbreaking overtime loss to rival Utah, where the Utes tossed in a half-court shot to beat the buzzer and win the game.

“I talked to them (her team) after the game and I was like, ‘Let it burn,'” Whiting said. “Then our AD came in and was really specific, and he said don’t leave this locker room until you can just let this game go, which I really appreciated, because it was really an emotional ending. It was hard. But the girls came into practice today and I feel like we’re locked in and ready to go.”

Whiting went on to note the outstanding fifth and sixth-year guards in the league, including Big 12 Player of the Year Haley Van Lith of TCU, Iowa State’s Emily Ryan, West Virginia’s J.J. Quinerly and others.

“There are some freaking good players, night in and night out,” Whiting said. “I just keep reminding them (her players) that you’re going toe to toe with these guys, you’re not backing down. It’s super encouraging for me to be able to see that. I just know in the offseason, they (her players) are going to put in the work. I know where we need to go. I know what we need to do.”

The Cougars have posted a 4-14 record in Year 2 of the Big 12. Last year, BYU was 6-12 but lost all-time leading rebounder Lauren Gustin to graduation. This year’s roster is talented but young, with Big 12 Freshman of the Year Delaney Gibb and sophomore Amari Whiting leading the way.

“I’m proud of them for just staying in the fight,” Coach Whiting said. “Every day we come to work the same, no matter if we win or lose. Every day we come to game prep the same, no matter what. They know what’s expected and they know how we need to approach every game.”

Coach Whiting said he has a specific plan for her team in preparation for their second Big 12 Tournament and that the Cougars will continue to fight.

“That’s who they are,” she said. “That’s why I recruited them. That’s who I am. If I’m down 20, I’m still coaching the same and I feel like I demand that out of them as well.”

Scouting Report

BYU beat UCF 73-67 in Provo on Feb. 5, with Gibb scoring 19 points and fellow freshman Brinley Cannon adding 13. The Cougars did good work guarding Kaitlyn Peterson, one of the Big 12’s top scorers. Peterson scored 19 points but was just 5 of 24 from the field.

The Golden Knights lost their first nine Big 12 games but have gone 4-5 since, including a 73-61 victory against Houston last Saturday. Peterson had 25 points in that game.

At 13-16, BYU needs to win the Big 12 Tournament to get into the NCAA’s, and likely needs two or three wins to be considered for any other post-season invites.

To be successful in the Big 12 Tournament, the Cougars need to limit their turnovers (currently a league worst 18.4 per game) and get some offensive help for Gibb. Against Utah, Gibb was 13 of 18 from the field (5 of 7 from the 3-point line) in scoring a career-high 36 points. The rest of the team was only 14 of 51 (27%) from the field and 5 of 28 (18%) from beyond the arc.

Women’s College Basketball

Big 12 Tournament First Round

No. 12 BYU (13-16, 4-14 Big 12) vs. No. 13 UCF (11-17, 4-14 Big 12)

Wednesday, 10 a.m. MT

T-Mobile Center, Kansas City

TV/Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: 107.9 FM, byuradio.org

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU is 2-0 all-time against UCF, including a 73-67 victory against the Golden Knights in Provo on Feb. 5. … Last year, as the No. 10 seed, the Cougars lost to No. 7 Kansas 77-53 in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. … The winner of Wednesday’s game moves on to the second round against No. 4 seed Kansas State Thursday morning.