Hope Leyba added another weekly honor to a resume that is already getting crowded.
The Colorado senior forward was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday after powering the Buffaloes to a 6-0 win over Denver with a hat trick. It is the fourth time in her career she has won the award, and her first this season.
Leyba’s performance against the Pioneers was the kind of night that can tilt a game all by itself. She scored three times, accounted for half of Colorado’s goals and put all six of her shots on target. It was the third hat trick of her career.
Her first goal came in the 33rd minute, when Reagan Kotschau found her and Leyba buried a shot into the top of the net to make it 2-0. She struck again in the 53rd minute off another connection with Kotschau, then finished the hat trick less than seven minutes later with help from Michaela McGowan and Jordan Whiteaker. That third goal pushed Colorado ahead 5-0.
The three-goal outing also moved Leyba to 83 career points, which puts her fifth on Colorado’s all-time scoring list.
"It doesn't get old," Leyba said following the win. "Scoring never gets old."
The recognition adds to what Leyba has already built this season. The Phoenix, Ariz., native is Colorado’s scoring leader with six goals through eight matches.
She also has three assists and 15 points. She entered the year as the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and a 2025 First Team All-American, and last season she picked up three weekly conference honors on the way to winning the league’s top offensive award.
Colorado is 6-1-1 and opens Big 12 play Thursday, Sept. 17, with a trip to Ames, Iowa, to face Iowa State. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. MT on ESPN+.
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