NCAA women’s basketball mural

Inspired by the NCAA Women’s Final Four being hosted in Arizona, a new mural has been unveiled celebrating the impact of women’s sports, featuring four local student-athletes.

These student-athletes present the next generation of leaders in the game and highlight the growing visibility and success of women in sports. The piece, titled “We Got Next,” was commissioned by Downtown Phoenix Inc. and celebrates the Women’s Final Four coming to Downtown Phoenix April 2-5.

Antoinette Cauley, a local Fine Artist, Tahjie “TT” Freeman, a freshman at North High School, and Kolbi Brooks, a freshman at Desert Vista High School, joined “Arizona Horizon” to talk more about the mural.

“So I decided to take this opportunity to use my artistic voice to highlight some of our girls’ high school basketball athletes in the community,” Cauley said.

Cauley explained how deciding who would be on the mural was the most challenging part of the process, as she consulted with various coaches to guide her on who was right for the project.

“I really wanted it to depict the power of our girls, and the strength of our girls, and the talent,” Cauley discussed, “…I thought of myself as a teenager and all the skill, and talent I had, and how many adults fostered that, and poured into me, and I wanted to be able to do that for our girls as well.”

Cauley also played basketball herself in middle school and high school, and eventually coached boys’ basketball in her twenties.

“I’m blessed for the opportunity that I was chosen by such a great artist, and chosen among…some of the best athletes in Phoenix,” Brooks said.

Both Freeman and Brooks emphasized how unique the mural is, and how much detail and color are added to enhance the quality.

“I’ve never had such a huge turnout, or so much media come to an unveiling,” Cauley said, “…and the response was so overwhelming.”