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BYU's Olivia Hamlin (7) takes a 3-pointer against Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU players celebrate a 70-67 win against Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU players celebrate a 70-67 win against Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Delaney Gibb sails in for a layup against Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU basketball head coach Lee Cummard gives instructions in a time out against Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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Some young BYU fans cheer in a game against Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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Players on the BYU bench celebrate a 3-pointer against Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Sydney Benally (2) looks to pass against Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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From left, BYU head coach Lee Cummard, Sydney Benally, Olivia Hamlin and Lara Rohkohl answer questions in a post-game news conference after beating Kansas in the semifinals of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday, March 30, 2026.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU’s matchup with Big 12 foe Kansas in the semifinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament was a tight battle with ten ties and 13 lead changes.

The Cougars got the final lead change on a trio of 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter and held on for a 70-67 victory at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan. on Monday.

Trailing 56-54 with under six minutes to play, BYU got a triple from freshman Olivia Hamlin and back-to-back 3-pointers from another freshman, Sydney Benally, to take a 63-56 lead with 3:49 to play.

“We were getting stops on defense, so we were able to get in our transition offense, and that’s what we thrive in,” Benally said.

BYU eventually took a nine-point lead with under a minute to play but made it interesting with some poor game management late that resulted in a couple of turnovers. A coach’s challenge by Kansas became a turnover with five seconds left and the Cougars clinging to a three-point lead. But the Jayhawks committed their own turnover and Hamlin broke loose on the inbounds play to run out the clock.

“In that last however many seconds … You saw what happened in the men’s tournament yesterday (UConn beating Duke on a last-second shot) and you’re just trying not to be that,” BYU head coach Lee Cummard said. “That’s a great learning experience for our group. It was a great college basketball game and just two good teams that went toe to toe.”

Hamlin tied a career high with 23 points, including 4 of 7 from the 3-point line and Benally had 15 points, making 4 of 9 from distance. Hamlin scored 14 of her points in the second half and Benally added 10.

“Sydney is always poised,” Cummard said. “She’s always composed. With Olivia, I’ve been around this game a long time. I’ve never seen somebody fill it up as fast as her. We’ve seen it multiple times this season where she sees that thing go through the hoop, and it is on. Like it’s just an onslaught.”

Kansas’ sticky man-to-man defense slowed down leading scorer Delaney Gibb but the talented sophomore still managed 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Senior Lara Rohkohl contributed nine points and logged career highs in rebounds (13) and blocks (six).

“Lara kind of was a pillar defensively for us, and then Sydney and Olivia were tremendous in the second half, just alleviating some of the pressure that they were putting on Delaney and making huge plays, big shot after big shot, attacking the rim,” Cummard said. “Ultimately the scoring of Sydney and Olivia ended up being the difference.”

Jaliya Davis led Kansas (22-14) with 18 points but was just 6 of 15 from the field. S’Mya Nichols was just 2 of 7 on field goals but made 10 of 12 from the foul line for the Jayhawks, which shot 21 of 26 (81%) from the line.

BYU (26-11) trailed 8-0 early in the game but went on a 9-0 run with four points from Bola Yussuf and a 3-pointer from Benally to take an 11-10 lead. It was 15-all entering the second quarter and Kansas got a late 3-point play from Lilly Meister to take a 31-28 lead at the break.

The Cougars went the final 4:33 of the third quarter without a field goal and Kansas made 9 of 11 from the foul line to lead 51-46 entering the final frame.

BYU opened the fourth on an 8-0 burst — four points each from Gibb and Hamlin — for a 54-51 lead. The Jayhawks surged in front 56-54 but that’s when the Cougars knocked down three straight triples. A drive and score by Gibb pushed BYU to a 67-58 advantage with a minute to play.

The win avenged an 81-60 BYU loss to Kansas in Lawrence on Feb. 4. It was the first victory for the Cougars against the Jayhawks after losing the first five meetings.

“I think this game we were just coming in with the confidence that we could play harder than what we played last time and just having that confidence and trust in our teammates, and I think that’s exactly what we did,” Hamlin said. “We came out ready to win, and I think that’s what helped me.”

BYU, which has won nine of its past ten games, plays Columbia, a 67-50 winner against Wisconsin in the other semifinal, in Wednesday’s championship game.

The final is set to tip at 5 p.m. MT on ESPN2.

Women’s College Basketball

WBIT Championship Game

BYU (26-11) vs. Columbia (24-8)

Wednesday, 5 p.m. MT

Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kan.

TV/Streaming: ESPN2

Radio: BYU Radio

The Word: BYU is 1-1 all-time against Columbia, winning the last meeting 96-52 in 1995. … The Lions finished second in the Ivy League this season with an 11-3 record. .. Columbia defeated St. Joseph (74-26), North Dakota State (86-57), Cal (74-68) and Wisconsin (67-50) to advance to finals. … Junior guard Riley Weiss leads the Lions with 20 points per game. … The school’s Director of Athletics is Peter Pilling, who was previously a senior associate athletic director at BYU. … Freshman Shay Shippen, who is from Idaho Falls, is the daughter of former BYU basketball players Ty Shippen and Kaly Gillette.