Tabitha Betson would have preferred, of course, that her freshman season with the Colorado women’s basketball team did not include time off due to injury.

That time off may have been a bit of a blessing in disguise, however.

During a 67-51 win against Texas Tech on Sunday, Betson had arguably the best game of her season, with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in 16 minutes, 40 seconds off the bench.

“Honestly, I was just playing,” said Betson, who is averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds this season. “After being out for three weeks, I’ve just been, like, really excited to get back out on the floor and really just focusing on doing what I’m supposed to do, playing my role, and just kind of letting whatever happens happens.”

Selected by coaches as the preseason Big 12 freshman of the year, Betson came into the season with high expectations. She had some growing pains, however, like most freshmen.

A starter for CU’s first three games, she began coming off the bench in the fourth game. She had some good moments, but not consistently, and saw her minutes decrease early in Big 12 play.

Then, she suffered a concussion and didn’t play a game for three weeks and was out of practice almost that entire time. In three games since she came back, Betson has averaged 7.0 points, and she’s made 4-of-7 shots from 3-point range in the past two games.

“Doing what she’s doing after not being allowed to touch a ball for a couple weeks is really, really impressive,” CU head coach JR Payne said.Easing back into action, Betson had a productive seven minutes off the bench in a 63-53 upset of No. 10 Kansas State on Jan. 25, with four points and two rebounds. At BYU on Wednesday, she hit two 3s, including the game-winner with 1:02 to play, made two massive defensive plays in the closing moments, and dished out two assists.

On Sunday, she sparked the Buffs (15-6, 6-4 Big 12) early and finished with a season high in points.

“(Sitting out), I think it gave me a chance to just be like, ‘Wow, I miss playing so much. Why am I so stressed about going out every night?’” she said. “Now I’m kind of just in a place where I’m like, I love this team and I love the coaches, and I know they support me. I’m just kind of happy to be here and happy to play, and I’m playing a lot better because of that mindset.”

Back on track

Senior forward Lior Garzon busted out of a shooting slump on Sunday, going 3-for-6 from 3-point range and scoring 17 points.

“Obviously it felt really good as a shooter,” she said. “You always want to see the ball go through.”

In the first 16 games of the year, Garzon had made at least one 3-pointer in 15 of them, shooting at a 32.5% clip. Over the next four games, however, she went 2-for-17 (11.8%), coming up empty in three of those games and going 2-for-8 in the other. She hopes Sunday shifts the shooting momentum.

“I know the work I put in, just like I know the coaches. They never told me to stop shooting the ball no matter what,” said Garzon, who is averaging 10.8 points. “So I think just take it in, go to the court, play with confidence. And I’m glad it went in today, but hopefully it keeps going.”

In addition to her 17 points, Garzon added four rebounds — only the second time in 10 games she’s had that many — and three steals. She had four steals in the previous 10 games combined.

Notable

After Sunday’s win, CU moved up three spots to No. 59 in the NET rankings. The Buffs host Arizona (NET No. 57) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+). … Garzon has made 277 3-pointers in her career and is inching closer to reaching 1,500 career points, with 1,483. … At 6-4, CU is above .500 through the first 10 games of conference play for just the third time in the past 21 seasons. But it’s the third consecutive year the Buffs have done that. They started 7-3 in 2022-23 and 8-2 last season.