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WBB returns home to face UCF on Wednesday

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WBB returns home to face UCF on WednesdayWBB returns home to face UCF on Wednesday
Sun Devil Athletics
Women's Basketball vs. UCF

Women's Basketball vs. UCF

Watch on ESPN+ /// Listen on KDUS AM 1060

Desert Financial Arena • Tempe, Ariz.
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Coming off its first Big 12 road trip of the season, the Sun Devil Women’s Basketball team (15-1, 2-1 Big 12) returns to play in front of its home crowd at Desert Financial Arena on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. MST) when it hosts UCF (8-6, 0-3).

State of play
In their most recent outing, the Sun Devils had their school-record-tying 15-game winning streak come to an end in a 71-62 loss at BYU on Saturday. The loss also ended ASU’s best start to a season in program history after surpassing the previous record (9-0) following its 67-44 win over San Francisco on Dec. 6.

ASU played eight of its first 10 games at home over the first 33 days of the season. Between time off for finals and the holidays – ASU had its longest break in between games of the season (10 days, Dec. 21-31) – ASU will be playing at home for only the second time in 31 days when it takes the floor vs. UCF.

During that space of time, ASU played five of its last six games on the road. It concluded the non-conference portion of its schedule with a trio of road wins – at Penn State (Dec. 9), at Oregon State (Dec. 14) and at Gonzaga (Dec. 16) – before opening Big 12 play with a win over Colorado at home on Dec. 21. When ASU resumed play after the aforementioned 10-day break, it was back on the road for games at Utah (Dec. 31) and at BYU (Jan. 3).

By the time the Sun Devils host Arizona on Jan. 28, they will have played eight of 11 games on the road. Following Wednesday’s game vs. TCU, ASU will be back on the road to play at the current No. 14/10 TCU on Sunday. Following a home game vs. Kansas (Jan. 17), ASU will play its furthest Big 12 games away from Tempe when it plays at West Virginia (Jan. 21) and at Cincinnati (Jan. 24).

As of Jan. 6, ASU is one of three teams in the Big 12 with only one loss this season, joining No. 11/13 Iowa State (14-1) and No. 13/10 TCU (14-1). No. 17/20 Texas Tech is the only team that still has an unblemished record (16-0).

As far as league play is concerned, as of Jan. 6, ASU is one of eight teams with a 2-1 conference record, trailing Texas Tech and West Virginia, who are tied atop the standings with identical 3-0 records.

Watch/Listen
Wednesday’s game can be seen on ESPN+ (Alex Coil and Kelly Burke) and heard on KDUS AM 1060 (pregame coverage will start at 6 p.m.). The state of Arizona’s 2010 and 2019 Broadcaster of the Year, Jeff Munn, who on Dec. 4, 2025, was named a recipient of the Arizona Media Association Lifetime Service Award, is in his 22nd season as the voice of ASU WBB. He will be joined by former ASU head coach Maura McHugh.

Making history again
On Dec. 6, head coach Molly Miller’s first ASU squad surpassed the 1991-92 team (9-0) for the best start in school history. With their win over Utah on New Year’s Eve, the Sun Devils tied the 2008-09 and 2015-16 teams for the longest winning streak in school history. It was not until Jan. 3 (71-62 at BYU) that ASU lost for the first time in 2025-26.



Series notes vs. UCF



  • With its 85-76 win last season in Orlando, UCF tied the all-time series at 1-1.
  • ASU won the initial meeting 60-45 in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, played in Coral Gables, Fla.

Did you know, as a head coach, Molly Miller....?

  • Entered the 2025-26 campaign third in winning percentage among active coaches who have served at least five years as a Division I head coach. At the outset of the 2025-26 campaign, Miller (84.4 percent/297-55 career record) trailed only legendary coaches Geno Auriemma (88.3 percent/1,250-165 career record) and Kim Mulkey (85.9 percent/754-124 career record).
  • Including last season’s 32-3 record at Grand Canyon, is 47-4 over the last two seasons. She has also won 45 of her last 46 non-NCAA Tournament games going back to last season.
  • Has won her last 32 home games going back to the 2023-24 season when she was the head coach at GCU.
  • Won 300th game as an NCAA head coach on Nov. 13, 2025.

Home away from home
Even when ASU is not playing in front of its fans at Desert Financial Arena, it has still performed at a high level as it has won all six of its seven road games. 

  • Among ASU’s more impressive stats when playing on the road: +6.7 in ppg (69.9-63.1), +4.8 in overall field goal percent (42.7.37.9), +7.9 in 3FG percent 39.1 pct (39.6-31.7), +5.6 in turnover margin and +6.5 in points off turnovers (19.4-13.9).
  • Individually, Gabby Elliott (19.7 ppg, 42.9 pct 3FGs/15-25), McKinna Brackens (16.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 79.5 FT pct/35-44 - missed game at Gonzaga) and Marley Washenitz (10.1 ppg) have led ASU. Also, Last-Tear is shooting 86.7 percent from the line (13-15).
  • ASU’s four highest single-game scoring totals this season have all come on the road. Brackens: 31 points at Utah and Elliott 30 points at Gonzaga (Dec. 16), 27 points at Penn State (Dec. 9) and 24 points at San Diego (Nov. 13). In the contest at San Diego, Elliott knocked down six 3-pointers, one short of tying the program record.
  • ASU is 4-0 this season in games decided by five points or less, including 3-0 on the road: 55-53/OT at Oregon State (Dec. 14), 68-66 at Gonzaga (Dec. 16) and 69-68 at Utah (Dec. 31).

It’s no coincidence ...  
When she assumed the reins of Sun Devil Women’s Basketball, Molly Miller emphasized defense as one of the pillars of success of her past teams and it would be no different at ASU. Miller’s last two Grand Canyon teams were among the best in the nation in scoring defense: 19th in 23-24 (56.4 ppg) and 31st in 24-25 (57.2 ppg). It should come as no surprise that those teams won 83.6 percent of their games (56-11).

One of the biggest benefits of playing excellent defense is limiting the number of times a team finds itself in the unenviable position of having to chase the game. That has been a significant factor in ASU’s success this season. With the exception of its game at BYU (11 points), ASU has not faced a deficit larger than seven points (Coppin St., UNLV, Utah). In addition, ASU has led for at least half the game (20+ minutes) in all but one of its contests (at BYU), including nine games it has led for 30+ minutes.

Fun fact: Going back to her first season at Grand Canyon (2020-21), Molly Miller’s teams are 70-0 when holding the opposition to 55 or fewer points.

Dominant Devil defense

  • As of Jan. 6, ASU is ranked among the top 50 teams in the nation in turnovers forced per game (36th/21.4), scoring defense (45th/56.9 ppg), and FG pct. defense (41st/36.4) and steals (47th/10.9 spg) .
  • Only six of ASU’s 16 opponents – Santa Clara (77 points), BYU (71 points), Utah (68 points), Colorado (63), Penn State (60) and Gonzaga (60) – have scored more than 58 points.
  • Only four opponents – Santa Clara (37 points), Colorado (31), Gonzaga (29), BYU (28), and Utah (27) – have scored more than 25 points in the first half.
  • ASU has held the opposition to 13 or fewer points in a quarter 29 times this season, including single digits 12 times.
  • In its 67-44 win vs. San Francisco (Dec. 6), ASU held the Dons more than 30 points below their scoring average... ASU’s 56-53 win over UNLV (Nov. 22) represented the first time the Lady Rebels were held to 53 or fewer points in 148 games.
  • On Dec. 14, Oregon State (15 points) became the first ASU opponent in six games to reach a double-digit point total in the second quarter. ASU’s previous five opponents scored a combined 28 points in the second quarter (5.6 ppg): Little Rock - 5, SEMO - 5, McNeese - 7, San Francisco - 7, Penn State - 4.
  • The opposition has had 20+ more turnovers nine times, including a trio of 30+ TO games: 33 vs. Coppin St. (Nov. 3), 31 vs. San Francisco (Dec. 6) and a season-high 36 at Penn St. (Dec. 9).
  • As of Jan. 6, Gabby Elliott has two of the highest single-game steal totals in the Big 12: 8 vs. San Francisco, 7 vs. Coppin St.
  • In its win over Colorado (Dec. 21), ASU’s defense once again stepped up when it mattered most. After Colorado made its first three shots of the fourth quarter to pull within two points, 58-56, the Sun Devils forced the Buffaloes into missing seven of their last nine shots and outscored Colorado 21-7 over the last 7:57 of the game.
  • ASU has ended with a double-digit total in steals 10 times this season.

Team notes

  • ASU has the top two rebounding games by a Big 12 team this season: vs. Utah Tech (62) & vs. Santa Clara (59). Its rebounding effort vs. Utah Tech represented the third time in the last 25 years it had at least 60 rebounds in a game.
  • ASU has outscored the opposition by an average of 20.8-13.6 in points off turnovers this season... It has scored more second-chance points than its opponent in all but five games. Its bench has outscored the opposition’s reserves 11x in 16 games
  • ASU has scored 20 or more points in a quarter 20 times.
  • In their win at San Diego (Nov. 13), the Sun Devils tied the single-game program record for most 3-pointers in a game (14). As of Jan. 6, ASU’s 63.6 shooting performance from beyond the arc in that game is the second-highest 3-point shooting percentage by a Big 12 team this season.
  • The opposition is averaging 52.1 ppg when ASU has played at home (nine games). In those games, the opposition has made only 35 percent of its FGs and 30.0 percent of its 3FGs.
  • Six Sun Devils have led/tied for the team lead in scoring: McKinna Brackens (7x), Gabby Elliott (6x), Marley Washenitz (1x), Amaya Williams (1x), Heloisa Carrera (2x) and Jyah LoVett (1x).
  • Seven Sun Devils have scored in double figures multiple times: Elliott (14x), Brackens (14x), Washenitz (8x), Carrera (6x), LoVett (3x), Amaya Williams (4x) and Last-Tear Poa (2x).
  • Seven Sun Devils have led or tied for the team lead in rebounding: Brackens (8x), Elliott (3x), Carrera (3x), Deborah Davenport (2x), Washenitz (1x), Martina Fantini (1x) and Poa. Elliott’s 16-rebound performance at Santa Clara is tied for the most by a player in the Big 12 this season.

Individual player notes

  • Brackens (double figures in scoring in her last 13 games) scored a then-career high 23 points in consecutive games: at Santa Clara (Nov. 16) and vs. UNLV (Nov. 22), and set a new career standard in scoring with 31 points at Utah (Dec. 31).
  • Four different players have posted double-doubles this season: Brackens (5/41st in NCAA), Elliott (1), Poa (1) and Carrera (1).
  • Poa (10 assists vs. SEMO and vs. Coppin State) and Williams (11 assists at San Diego) have combined for three double-digit assist games this season. Williams’ 11 assists were the most for a Sun Devil in a single game since current graduate assistant Reili Richardson had 11 at Colorado State on Dec. 9, 2018. Poa hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining in overtime in ASU’s 55-53 win at Oregon State (Dec. 14).
  • Brackens’ second half (22 points) and fourth quarter (14 points) at Utah (Dec. 31) were reminiscent of 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.