Arizona women's basketball coach Becky Burke discusses the Wildcats' victory over Eastern Kentucky on "Field Trip Day" at McKale Center (video by Michael Lev / Arizona Daily Star)

Noelani Cornfield committed nine turnovers against Southern University on Dec. 3. It was the most turnovers charged against the point guard in 102 Division I college basketball games.

Since then? Cornfield has enjoyed a complete turnover turnaround.

Cornfield has given the ball away only one time in the past two games, including a turnover-free performance in Arizona’s 87-83 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday at McKale Center.

It’s not as if she played any less aggressively, either. Cornfield had seven assists against New Mexico on Sunday and eight against Eastern Kentucky, regularly pushing the pace and firing passes that others wouldn’t even attempt.

“Sometimes the ball gets through, and sometimes it doesn't,” Cornfield said matter-of-factly. “I'm the type of point guard that threads the needle. If the thread gets through the needle, then it does. And if it doesn't, then it doesn't. I just happened to have a good day today. Maybe it was the kids.”

Arizona Wildcats guard Noelani Cornfield (4) is defended by Eastern Kentucky Colonels guard Kenleigh Woods (10) in the second half during a game at McKale Center on Dec. 10, 2025. Arizona won 87-83.

Cornfield was referring to the roughly 3,000 students who packed the ZonaZoo section for “Field Trip Day.” From chanting “U of A!” to repeatedly making the “6-7” hand motion, the kids brought a different type of energy to McKale.

But Cornfield insisted she was the same player the past two games as the previous one, despite the disparity in turnovers. In some ways, that was true. Cornfield drew a pair of offensive fouls against the Colonels. Her eight assists marked the fifth time she has reached or exceeded that threshold in nine games. She ranks among the national leaders with an average of 8.0 assists per game.

Cornfield also sought and found her own shot, tying her UA high with 22 points. It was the third time in the past four games that she scored 20 or more.

“You have to guard her because she'll take you downhill,” said teammate Mickayla Perdue, who had a game-high 27 points. “You gotta guard the outside, too. It’s a lose-lose (for the opposition) in some ways.

“She doesn't care how many points she scores. She had (22) today and still was sharing the ball. ... That's the type of person that you like having on the floor with you.”

Arizona's Noelani Cornfield, right, dribbles the ball while being guarded by Eastern Kentucky's Althea Kara Angeles on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, at McKale Center.

Cornfield made a left-handed reverse layup to give Arizona a 73-63 lead with 6:05 remaining. She then fed Nora Francois for a layup to make it 75-63 with 5:34 to go.

Eastern Kentucky (7-2) responded with a 14-3 run that trimmed the deficit to 78-77 with 1:52 left. Arizona (7-2) was able to hang on, snapping its two-game losing streak, but it wasn’t the buttoned-up finish that UA coach Becky Burke was seeking.

“We’ll have to have a conversation about the fourth quarter and slippage and letting things get loose and keeping things interesting all the time,” Burke said. “We’ve gotta be a mature enough team to finish a game the way we should.

“But I’m proud of them. We needed to win a basketball game, and we did that.”

Burke attributed that rocky sequence to “little controllable things that we can control,” such as defensive discipline — giving too much space to 3-point shooters or falling for pump fakes. The Wildcats allowed 32 points in the fourth quarter — one more than the previous two periods combined.

Burke said that figure made her feel “sick” to the point she wasn’t sure if she’d be able to go out to dinner with her parents Wednesday night.

“Nine times out of 10, you're not escaping like we did today,” Burke said. “If we're gonna rely on scoring 87 every night ... I don't think that's the recipe for success for us this year.

“Way, way, way, way, way too many points given up in the fourth. Fortunately, that was our best offensive quarter, too. But it's usually not going to work out that way.”

No pressure

Arizona put the game away at the foul line, and Cornfield played a major role in accomplishing that.

Cornfield sank 5 of 6 free throws in the final 1:36. Sumayah Sugapong buried a pair with 4.7 seconds left to bump Arizona’s lead to four points.

Cornfield went 8 of 10 (80%) from the foul line, and the Wildcats shot 79.2% (19 of 24) as a team — a sizable upgrade over their 63% mark (17 of 27) in Sunday’s loss to New Mexico.

Arizona Wildcats guard Sumayah Sugapong (3) looks to make a pass to UA guard Mireia Jurado (8) as Eastern Kentucky Colonels guard Liz Freihofer (31) defends in the first half during a game at McKale Center on Dec. 10, 2025.

What goes through Cornfield’s mind when she’s at the stripe with the game on the line? Nothing, she said.

“I shoot free throws every day,” Cornfield said. “I probably shoot about 50 every day. It's a free shot. So there shouldn't really be any pressure. I don't feel or have any pressure when I'm up there.

“I believe I'm going to make the shot. If you're doubting yourself, there's no reason you should be on the line anyways.”

It helps when your teammates have your back. Perdue didn’t shoot any foul shots Wednesday, but she supported Cornfield when her backcourt mate stepped to the line.

“We were huddling,” Perdue said. “I told Lani, ‘Knock these down. These are important free throws.’ That builds confidence, too.”

For the kids

Burke enjoyed and appreciated the atmosphere the screaming students created at McKale. Announced attendance was a season-high 7,780.

“It was amazing,” Burke said. “The kids were great. It’s a different vibe, a different feel. I’m so appreciative of all the schools that took the time. It’s a lot to get kids on a bus and get them out here and feed them and make sure they behave and do all those things. But I think these are memories for those kids.”

Students from Tucson-area schools react to seeing their faces on the big screen before the start of the Arizona women’s basketball game against Eastern Kentucky at McKale Center on Dec. 10, 2025. Students were bused in as part of field trip day.

The students were treated to a halftime performance by ZOOperstars!, which Wikipedia describes as a “traveling inflatable entertainment act based in Louisville, Kentucky, who utilizes comedy, acrobatics, tricks and maneuvers accompanied by synchronized dancing to entertain” patrons.

The troupe consists of characters with "pun-based animal-athlete monikers,” the website says. “Kevin Duranteater,” “Whale Gretzky” and “Sealrena Williams” performed at halftime Wednesday. “Mike Rainbow Trout” did a solo act between the third and fourth quarters.

Rim shots

– Redshirt-junior guard Tanyuel Welch tied her career high with 11 rebounds in 33 minutes off the bench. Welch also had seven points, three assists and a steal. She had a team-best plus-14 plus/minus rating.

– Francois played with a mask after taking an elbow to the face during practice. She likely will need it for “a couple weeks,” Burke said. Francois had six points and four rebounds in 15 minutes.

– Forward Blessing Adebanjo played well during a brief stint in the second quarter but suffered a leg injury after a hard fall that will require further evaluation.

– Arizona’s eight made 3-pointers were a season high. Perdue had five of them and shot 11 of 18 from the field overall.

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Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com. On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @michaeljlev.bsky.social