After three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the Colorado women’s basketball team has a high standard and a measure of confidence.

With a new roster, however, the Buffaloes were able to gain some confidence with their first game together.

CU will host Northern Colorado on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN+) in the home opener, fresh off a 56-50 win at Wyoming on Monday.

“I think it just sort of shows that even when things aren’t going our way and how we want them to go, that we can still achieve a win,” senior Sara-Rose Smith said of the opener. “I think it puts us in a good position going into our game on Thursday.

“Just being confident that even when things aren’t going our way, if we trust our system and trust our offense and trust what (assistant coach Toriano Towns) tells us to do on defense, we can still be successful, even when the ball’s not dropping how we want it to (on offense).”

CU overcame a tough shooting night at Wyoming to rally in the second half and get a win, and it will aim to keep the momentum going against the Bears. Lior Garzon had 20 points in her CU debut on Monday in Laramie, Wyo.