TUCSON, Ariz. - Arizona women's basketball fifth-year Jade Loville works hard. It's been instilled in her for her entire life: put in the work and get the job done.

It's a lesson that Loville's parents, both committed to their family and their careers, wanted her to learn early on. Her father, three-time Super Bowl Champion Derek Loville, knows what it takes to achieve the highest reaches of sport and made sure his daughter had the tools to reach her goals in basketball or in life. 

"He taught me how to work, and that's with anything whether it be on the court or off the court," Loville said. "Nothing in life is handed to you. From a very young age, I was challenged to do things that other kids weren't doing. Everything is kind of a competition. You get home from school, the first thing you want to do is your homework because then you don't have to think about it. First thing you do when you wake up is you want to work out so you don't have to think about it and you're not putting it off.

"They just feel the gratitude of getting to wake up and work. It's not something that everyone gets to do, so you have to find the positive light in doing it. I think that taught me to embrace the work and embrace the grind, and I'm very thankful for them."

A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Loville began her college basketball career at Boise State and spent one season at Arizona State before joining the Wildcats program. Coming out of high school, she was an unranked recruit. As a member of a team with multiple McDonald's All-Americans and highly-rated signees, her path to Arizona was different than that of many of her teammates.

"There was a time at Boise State - I've always had dreams of going pro - there was a time when I didn't think that was possible," Loville reflected. "One, because of some of my circumstances and two, just the stage that I was on. It's hard for women's basketball players all over the world to find a team and stay on a team. I was just trying to think of the logistics of it. Not to doubt myself, but just to think of the reality of the situation."

Loville made the most of her first four years in college. She was the 2019 Mountain West Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Mountain West Team as a junior at Boise State. In her lone season at Arizona State, she led the Pac-12 in scoring in conference matchups and was a member of the All-Pac-12 Team. After her senior year with the Sun Devils, she decided to make another move.

"I was ready to be on a bigger stage, and I think Coach Adia has left a legacy already and is paving the way for such a great women's basketball program that can go to heights that have been touched already; competing for a National Championship," Loville said. "Ultimately, that's what any individual, any women's basketball player, any basketball player in general wants to do. Knowing that she could put that platform in front of me, for me to put my skill set on display, and have a team where I have like-minded individuals that want to win was very appealing to me."

Although she's only been at Arizona for a few months, Loville feels that she's already grown a lot and seen success. A lights-out shooter, she's worked on defense and improving areas of the game outside of scoring since arriving in Tucson. The expectations that her teammates and coaches have of her have helped motivate Loville to take those next steps in her game.

While she'll have just one season with the Wildcats, she's hoping that she'll leave behind more than wins. 

"I hope to leave a legacy of showing younger kids and other basketball players in the world that your path may not be linear," Loville said. "There are a lot of highs and lows. There is a lot of adversity that gets thrown at you. There are a lot of people who will doubt you and try to hold you back. I want to show people that there's always a way as long as you believe in yourself. I want to leave a legacy of sticking to your path no matter what. As long as you have that self-belief and that drive and that want, there's always going to be a way whether it be this route or this other route. There's a route that's individual to you. Just really owning that and being proud of it really helps you in the end."

From her childhood to her career before arriving in Tucson, Loville has embodied a gritty determination. The same type of determination that is at the core of Arizona Athletics' Wildcat Way. It's a determination that is described in two words in Tucson; Bear Down.