Aaliyah Roberson, forward at Texas Christian University, has turned the heat up on her game this season. After quadrupling her freshman year stats, the sophomore now averages 7.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. At a time when her team needed it the most, she adapted what she calls a killer mentality. Now, Roberson is one of TCU’s confident leaders.
Early January, adversity began to hit TCU’s locker room like a semi truck. Four players, including Sedona Prince and Jaden Owens, faced season ending injuries. The team was left with only six available scholarship players, causing them to forfeit two games. TCU soon announced that they were hosting open tryouts to full-time students and later added four new walk-ons to their roster.
Though an initially uncomfortable situation for Roberson, she recognized it as an opportunity to step up for her fellow Horned Frogs. She took the adversity and turned it into fuel for her future.
“I can't take this for granted. I'm going to go out there and give it my all every night,” Roberson said. “It's a really sad situation, but I'm going to do my best for them. I want to do good for them and represent this program.”
With her recent performances, particularly since gaining new teammates, Roberson has proven to be a poised leader that performs on both ends of the court. Against the University of Central Florida, she led her team in scoring and recorded a season high of 17 points.
During the following game against Texas Tech, she secured 10 rebounds, also leading her team. Roberson was also named the active Big 12 leader in effective field goal percentage (.797) since joining the starting five in January. Undoubtedly, she is a vital piece to TCU’s roster and is hungry for even more success moving forward.
“From last year to this year, I've seen a major change in my game, my confidence and just overall life,” Roberson said. “I just want to keep continuing to do better for myself.”
This season alone has caused Roberson to be incredibly proud of herself. She describes her game as full circle, where both her offensive and defensive strengths are working together every time she steps foot on the court. Roberson’s persistent athleticism has the potential to carry TCU towards victory.
With nine regular season games remaining, Roberson and her teammates are aware of what it will take to acquire wins. A shared mindset of determination must be present amongst each of them.
“We have to go in there knowing that we're the underdogs. We're going to have to bring our all every night and just go out there and compete,” Roberson said. “We can't let up. Our margin for error is very small.”