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WBB edges Utah 69-68, ties program record for consecutive wins

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WBB edges Utah 69-68, ties program record for consecutive winsWBB edges Utah 69-68, ties program record for consecutive wins
Sun Devil Athletics

SALT LAKE CITY – For the third time in four games, the Sun Devil women’s basketball team prevailed in a contest decided in the final seconds in its 69-68 win over Utah on Wednesday. In addition to extending the best start in program history, the Sun Devils (15-0, 2-0 Big 12) also tied the 2008-09 and 20015-16 squads for the longest winning streak in program history.

Making history again
On Dec. 6, head coach Molly Miller’s first ASU squad (10-0) surpassed the 1991-92 team (9-0) for the best start in school history. With Wednesday’s win over Utah (10-4, 1-1 Big 12), the Sun Devils tied the 2008-09 and 2015-16 teams for the longest winning streak in school history. A win on Saturday at BYU would establish a new program record.

Longest winning streaks in program history

  • 15: Nov. 3, 2025 – current
  • 15: Dec. 6, 2015 – Jan. 29, 2016
  • 15: Jan. 28 – Mar. 5, 2009
  • 14: Nov. 30, 2014 – Jan. 23, 2015

Sun Devil standouts

  • McKinna Brackens scored 22 of her career-high 31 points in the second half, with 14 of those points coming in the fourth quarter. Time and again, Brackens came through in pressure situations at the foul line knocking down eight of 10 attempts in the final period, including the tying and go-ahead makes with 1.1 seconds remaining. Brackens also had seven rebounds, tying for the team lead with two on the offensive end.
  • Gabby Elliott (4-8 FGs, two assists) and Marley Washenitz (three rebounds, two of ASU’s four 3-pointers and three assists) scored 10 points each.
  • Last-Tear Poa had a game-high seven assists and a team- and career-high eight rebounds.
  • Jyah LoVett scored eight of ASU’s 10 bench points.

How it happened

  • Wednesday’s game proved to be a see-saw contest with 15 ties and 20 lead changes.
  • Utah led 14-12 after one quarter. Both teams had difficulty shooting as ASU made 28 percent of its shots and Utah made 25 percent of its attempts. While both teams made five field goals, four of Utah’s makes came from beyond the arc.
  • Neither team led by more than three in the final 8:30 of the second quarter.
  • Brackens (4-6 FGs) scored half of ASU’s 18 points in the second frame. As a team, the Sun Devils connected on 53 percent of their shots and were able to convert Utah’s five turnovers into nine points. ASU concluded the first 20 minutes with a 30-27 lead.
  • Elliott’s layup 43 seconds into the third quarter gave ASU its largest lead of the game, 34-29.
  • Utah also had its biggest advantage of the game in the third quarter after an 18-6 scoring run gave the Utes a 47-40 lead with less than two minutes remaining.
  • Brackens (four points) and Heloisa Carrera (two points) combined to score the last six points of the quarter.
  • Punctuated by eight ties and 11 lead changes, the fourth quarter provided outstanding theatre. Carrera’s layup to start the fourth quarter capped an 8-0 run by ASU, giving the Sun Devils a 48-47 lead.
  • Neither team led by more than two points until Brackens’ layup gave ASU a 62-59 lead with 2:12 remaining.
  • After Maty Wilke made one of her three triples in the game, Utah was able to knot the score at 64-64 and then took the lead 66-64 with 33 seconds left.
  • Washenitz answered with a 3-pointer to return the lead to ASU with 29 seconds remaining.
  • LA Sneed’s two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining set the stage for Brackens, who was fouled while attempting win the game for ASU. Brackens calmly drained the two free throws with 1.1 seconds remaining. Utah’s last-second attempt did not yield any points giving the Sun Devils the 69-68 win.

Notes

  • For the second consecutive game, ASU made the most of its attempts at the charity stripe. As a team, the Sun Devils came into Big 12 play shooting 66 percent as a team. In its first two conference games, they have connected on a combined 86 percent (37-43) of their attempts: 20-23 vs. Colorado on Dec. 21 and 17-20 on Wednesday.
  • ASU tied a season low with 10 turnovers vs. Utah.
  • For the second straight game, ASU scored 23 points in the fourth quarter. It used similar paths in both games to reach that total. Against CU, the Sun Devils made 50 percent of their FGs (5-10) and 92 percent of their FTs (11-12). On Wednesday, they once again made 50 percent of their FGs (5-10) and 86 percent of their FTs (17-20).
  • Brackens’ second half (22 points) and fourth quarter (14 points) were reminiscent to what Elliott did at Gonzaga on Dec. 16. In that contest, Elliott scored 21 points in the second half with 17 of them coming in the final 10 minutes to lead ASU to a 68-66 win. 
  • Elliott (13x) and Brackens (13x) have combined to score in double figures 26 times this season. Brackens’ 31 points vs. Utah surpassed the 30 points Elliott scored at Gonzaga for the most points by a Sun Devil this season.

Up next

The Sun Devils will conclude their first conference road trip of the season on Saturday at BYU (2 p.m. MST). They will return home on Wed., Jan. 7 (6:30 p.m. MST) when they face UCF at Desert Financial Arena. Click here to purchase tickets.