Three takeaways from No. 10 TCU’s Big 12 game against Arizona
The TCU Horned Frogs rallied in the second half after a slow start on the offensive end Saturday to beat the Arizona Wildcats 78-62 and remain undefeated at Schollmaier Arena.
The Wildcats kept pace with the Horned Frogs for much of the day in a physical Big 12 clash. However, late in the third quarter, TCU took control thanks to a 17-9 run, with 11 of those points scored between Veronica Sheffey and Donovyn Hunter, that started near the end of the third quarter and carried into the fourth.
Here are three takeaways from the win.
Sheffey and Bigby come up big off the bench
Sheffey, who has turned into a crucial piece for the Horned Frogs off the bench, provided a spark Saturday, finishing with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists.
It was a season high in scoring for Sheffey, and head coach Mark Campbell praised the guard for always staying ready.
“It’s really hard to be ready, and not know when your number is gonna be called, and be able to deliver and, if you were to come to our practices, and you get to see it, it wouldn’t surprise you, that Ronnie’s performing this way, she’s done it for a long time in practice, so her teammates trust her, our staff’s trusted her, and what she’s done’s not easy,” said Campbell.
Sheffey got a round of applause when she was subbed out near the end of the third quarter.
Taylor Bigby provided another boost off the bench with nine points, six rebounds and a steal on a day when Olivia Miles and Marta Suárez shot a combined 6 for 22 from the field and accounted for 26 points.
Campbell talked about the impact the pair had for the Horned Frogs.
“Taylor and [Sheffey], you guys, they literally are the same kid every single day, they both are part of a group that works out at 7 a.m. They come in for practice with great attitudes and compete and battle, whether they start, whether they come off the bench, whether they score 30, whether they score 2, you wouldn’t know with these kids, they have an incredible maturity.
“It’s really hard to do that, by the way. Taylor Bigby’s done this for a year and a half, and has just been a rock for us, she was our sixth starter a year ago on the 34-4 team, and now she’s doing it again, and so I think Taylor and Ronnie were a huge reason why we scored 50 in the second half and played with just a tremendous spirit.”
Maddie Scherr leaves game with injury
The Horned Frogs lost Maddie Scherr in the second quarter after she ran into a Wildcats player while trying to fight through a screen and hit the ground, grabbing her low back while sitting up on the floor.
Scherr’s teammates encircled her until trainers were able to get to her. They would eventually carry the Kentucky transfer off the floor.
After the game, Sheffey talked about how the team reacted to seeing Scherr go down.
“I mean, it was shocking. So I mean, I know Maddie will be OK, and you know, it might just take her a little bit, but she’ll be back out there, she’s fine. So, I think we just got to pick up the slack when that happens and again, stay ready, anything can happen during the season, so just stay ready for whenever that does,” said Sheffey.
Scherr missed all but nine games in the 2024-25 season after suffering a back injury.
Turnover troubles continue
TCU averages 14.6 turnovers per game, third best in the Big 12, but the Horned Frogs have struggled taking care of the ball, with the team having 14 or fewer turnovers only once in its past six games.
Campbell talked about the team’s turnover problems, saying it hasn’t been good and that it has to improve in that area.
“No, we’re not taking care of the ball good, It’s obviously something we’ve talked about,” said Campbell. “To accomplish what we want to accomplish, you have to slow down and take care of the ball, there’s also been three games in a row, West Virginia, Arizona and Ohio State, that they try to speed you up and force turnovers and so, you know, at the end of the day, as you go through the journey of a season, ultimately, you want to get your group ready for March and right now, some things are getting exposed. That’s not a bad thing. It’s only a bad thing if we don’t learn from it and get better.”
Saturday, the Horned Frogs had 17 turnovers but were still able to pull off the victory.
The Horned Frogs will face a tough non-conference test in their next game when they play No. 14 Ohio State at 11 a.m. on Martin Luther King Day at the Prudential Center in the Coretta Scott King Classic.
This story was originally published January 17, 2026 at 6:15 PM.
