Arizona women’s basketball fails to upset No. 11 TCU

Michael Smith

February 17, 2025

Skylar Jones works her way to the basket against TCU’s Hailey Van Lith in McKale Center on Feb. 16. Skylar had a career night with 30 points on 4-4 3 pt shooting.

The University of Arizona women’s basketball team (15-12, 6-8 in Big 12) lost to No. 11 TCU (24-3, 12-2 in Big 12) 85-73 on Sunday, Feb. 16 in McKale Center at 2 p.m.

Skylar Jones led the Wildcats with a career-high 30 points and five rebounds on 9-for-11 shooting. Paulina Paris followed with 14 points and six assists while going 6-for-17 from the field.

“I thought Sky played out of her mind today, couldn’t have asked for anything more,” head coach Adia Barnes said post-game.

TCU jumped out to a strong start leading 9-5 until Arizona went on a run to take a 13-12 lead toward the end of the opening quarter after Jones drilled a shot from long range. The Horned Frogs then took an 18-17 lead after trading buckets to end the period.

The Wildcats opened the second quarter on a two-minute scoring drought allowing TCU to extend its lead to as much as 32-22 before Barnes called timeout to stop the bleeding midway through the quarter.

Out of the timeout, however, the Wildcats went on an 8-0 scoring run to get within a possession of the Horned Frogs after freshman Lauryn Swann converted a 3-pointer.

TCU responded right back with a run of its own to give the team a 45-38 lead at the half.

Jones managed to score a game-high 16 first-half points, scoring 5-for-6 from the floor and going toe-to-toe with TCU’s Sedona Prince, who secured 14 points and five rebounds in the first two quarters.

In the third quarter, both programs traded buckets to, gradually finding their rhythm out of halftime. Then, Arizona went on a run, tying the game at 52 when Breya Cunningham converted on a layup midway through the quarter.

TCU responded right back, going on yet another scoring run to reclaim the lead and extend its advantage heading into closing the quarter ahead 65-57.

To open the final quarter of regulation, Swann nailed a 3-pointer, cutting the deficit to 5 points. However, the Horned Frogs consistently responded, leaving Arizona with no opportunity to mount a comeback.

The TCU defense came to fruition, forcing the Wildcats to turn the ball over four times during a three-minute scoring drought. This allowed the Horned Frogs to go on a 6-0, growing their lead to 74-63.

Aaliyah Roberson of TCU drilled a clutch 3-point shot at the 1:52 mark, sealing the victory for the Horned Frogs and extending their winning streak to three games.

Despite Arizona lighting it up from beyond the arc, shooting an impressive 67%, TCU dominated the paint, outscoring the Wildcats 42-24. Additionally, the Horned Frogs also outscored Arizona’s bench 24-7, with no Jada Williams and Mailien Rolf out due to injury.

“Mailien [Rolf] is one of our best defensive players […] not having her really hurt us,” Barnes said.