Jade Loville has brought veteran leadership and a tenacious work ethic since she arrived in Tucson for her fifth collegiate season after previously playing at Boise State and in-state rival Arizona State.

Loville will have the opportunity to lead the young Wildcats (6-0) this Sunday in what is expected to be a loud atmosphere at The Pit, home of the Lobos.

The Wildcats guard/forward is familiar with The Pit as she once helped defeat the Lobos, 95-76, while part of the Boise State team on Feb 22, 2020.

“Albuquerque is the Tucson of New Mexico,” Loville said. “That was our biggest game in the Mountain West. So going there, we could expect a lot of fans to come out. They support. And I tried to explain that the court is that you're in this little rectangle and The Pit is higher than you so it feels like everyone's kind of just looking down, and it's fun to play in it."

The Wildcats have averaged 48.9% from the field so far this season and a large factor in this offensive effectiveness has been the ability to both shoot from the perimeter and get to the basket.

Loville's versatility has allowed her to contribute in a variety of ways this season.

“It's the unpredictability that every scorer wants to have,” Loville said. “I'm not just a shooter, so I think it puts pressure on defenses to guard us and I think we have a lot of assets on the team that one can knock down outside shots. I think we've seen that that's helped our offense a lot when we get in the paint and then kick out our percentages are really high.

"So I think just adding with me getting in the paint as well, that'll just help our offense and I think moving forward, that's going to be something that I also focus on.”