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Women's basketball back at home on Wednesday vs. Utah

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Women's basketball back at home on Wednesday vs. UtahWomen's basketball back at home on Wednesday vs. Utah
Sun Devil Athletics / Emma Jeanson

Sun Devil WBB (19-6, 6-6 Big 12) vs. Utah (16-8, 7-5 Big 12)

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Coming off one of its most determined efforts of the season in its near upset of then-No. 15 Baylor in Waco, Texas, the Sun Devil women’s basketball team (19-6, 6-6 Big 12) has the first of two rematches this week when it hosts Utah (16-8, 7-5) on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. MST). On Saturday (12 p.m. MST), ASU will travel to Tucson to take on Arizona. ASU will be going for season sweeps in both contests. On New Year’s Eve, ASU was able to get a 69-68 win in Salt Lake City. 

Watch/Listen

Wednesday’s game vs. Utah can be seen on ESPN+ (Alex Coil/former Sun Devil head coach Charli Turner Thorne). It can also be heard on KDUS AM 1060 (pregame coverage will start at 6 p.m. MST). 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 Sun Devil head coach Maura McHugh.

Sun Devils top the list of nation’s most improved teams

As of Feb. 9, ASU led the nation in the largest improvement in wins from 2024-25. Its current victory total of 19 is nine more than it had all of last season when it went 10-22.

How good was that 15-0 start?

ASU started 15-0 this year after going 10-22 last year. How impressive is that? Since 1999-2000, only Nebraska has bounced back from a losing record to post more season-opening wins, as Nebraska won its first 30 in 2009-10 after going 15-16 in 2008-09.

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 its win over Utah on New Year’s Eve, ASU 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.

Best season-opening win streaks after losing record previous season (1999-00 to present)

  • 30 by Nebraska in 2009-10 (15-16 in 2008-09)
  • 15 by Arizona State in 2025-26 (10-22 in 2024-25)
  • 14 by Georgia in 2025-26 (13-19 in 2024-25)
  • 14 by TCU in 2023-24 (8-23 in 2022-23)
  • 14 by Indiana in 2013-14 (11-19 in 2012-13)

Notes from last week

  • On Feb. 4, ASU bounced back from its first home loss of the season with an exceptional defensive effort in a 74-69 victory over Oklahoma State. ASU forced OSU into an uncharacteristic offensive performance, holding the Cowgirls 17 points below their scoring average (OSU came into the game No. 9 in the NCAA in scoring offense at 86.0 ppg), nearly 16 percentage points below their shooting percentage (came into the game No. 14 in the NCAA at 47.7 pct.), 4.2 fewer 3-pointers (came into the game No. 3 in the NCAA making 10.2 per game) and nearly 14 percentage points below their average mark of 36.6 percent from long range, managing a paltry 22.2 percent... ASU shot 45.5 pct., made seven 3-pointers (shot 37 pct in the game) and also scored 17 points from the free throw line where it created 22 attempts... First-year Sun Devil Deborah Davenport’s contributions off the bench – career highs of 18 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and a trio of triples (led team) – proved to be significant in the win... ASU’s offense came alive in the second half, connecting 58 pct. of its shots and 44 pct. (4-9 FGs) from long range.
  • On Saturday, ASU nearly captured its first win over a ranked team since 2022, falling to Baylor 67-64 in Waco. ASU’s inspired effort came in an environment where Baylor (12-1 at home coming into the game) was beating opponents by an average of 27 points a game. Houston (66 points) was the only visiting opponent that scored more than ASU. Defensively, just two visiting teams (Colorado - 56 points, Texas Tech 60 points) allowed Baylor to score fewer points at home...Elliott once again had a tremendous outing over the final 20 minutes, scoring 15 of her game-high 25 points in the second half. She also tied for the team lead with six rebounds... For the second straight game, ASU received a remarkable performance from its bench as Jyah LoVett (season-high 16 points, two assists, two steals) and Martina Fantini (six points, four rebounds) combined for 22 points... For the eighth time in conference play, the ASU attempted 20 or more free throws. Unfortunately, it was not as accurate as the 77.8 pct. it had in conference play coming into the game, shooting 62 pct (13-21) in a contest decided by such a narrow margin... Baylor scored more than a third of its points from the line, where it made 81 percent (25-31) of its attempts, including 90 percent in the second half (18-20).

State of play

  • ASU (19-6, 6-6 Big 12) started the week (not including Tuesday’s night’s Big 12 game results) tied for ninth place with Kansas State (13-12, 6-6) in the Big 12. Both trailed the trio of teams tied for sixth place Utah (16-8, 7-5), Iowa State (19-5, 7-5) and Colorado (16-8, 7-5).
  • As of Feb. 9, the Big 12 had 12 teams inside the top 60 of the NET rankings. TCU (13), West Virginia 22, Baylor (26), Texas Tech (27,) Oklahoma State (29), Iowa State (32), Colorado (45), Utah (47), ASU (49), Kansas (50), BYU (57) and K-State (60).
  • Three of ASU’s last six regular season games are against teams the Sun Devils are either tied with (vs. Utah on Wednesday) or trail (vs. Iowa State on Feb. 18 and at Texas Tech in the regular season finale on Mar. 1). ASU’s other three games are at Arizona (11-13, 2-11) on Saturday, vs. Houston (7-16, 1-11) on Feb. 21 and vs. BYU (16-8, 5-7) on Feb. 25.
  • With one more win, Molly Miller’s first ASU squad would become the 21st in program history and the first since the 2019-20 team to win 20 games. With two more wins, Miller would set the program record for most wins by a first-year Sun Devil coach. In his only season as interim head coach, Joseph Anders won 20 games in 2011-12.
  • Gabby Elliott has the fourth-highest number of 20-point games (eight) in the Big 12. McKinna Brackens has the fourth-highest number of 10-point games (seven).
  • In its last two wins (vs. Arizona, vs. Oklahoma State), the Sun Devils held a one-point lead near the seven-minute mark. In both contests, the Sun Devils did not allow either team to tie or take the lead the remainder of the game. Against Arizona, ASU scored the game’s last six points while holding Arizona scoreless over the last 2:13 of the game. Oklahoma State got as close as three points twice in the final two minutes but did ASU came through when it mattered most.

Series notes vs. Utah

  • ASU’s 69-98 win in Salt Lake City on New Year’s Eve snapped an eight-game winning streak for Utah (streak included a contest ASU had to forfeit at Utah in 2022-23 due to not having enough healthy players).
  • The win at Utah was ASU’s 15th consecutive win, tying the school record for most consecutive wins. It also capped the best start to a season in school history (previous record was 9-0).
  • 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. The game included 15 ties and 20 lead changes.
  • During a three-season stretch between 2018-20, the two teams played four consecutive games that were each decided by two points and a fifth in which the margin of victory was four.
  • In 2019, ASU pulled off the biggest comeback in school history when it scored the last 20 points of the game to erase an 18-point deficit.form to recognize and honor Native Americans who served in the armed forces.

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 pct/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 her 32-3 record at Grand Canyon last season, Miller is  51-9 over last two seasons.
  • Has won her last 36 of her last 37 home games going back to the 2023-24 season at GCU.
  • Won 300th game as an NCAA head coach on Nov. 13, 2025.

Dominant Devil defense

  • As of Feb. 9, ASU is ranked among the top 65 teams in the nation in turnovers forced per game (43rd/20.2/2nd in Big 12), steals per game (58th/10.3 spg/4th in Big 12) and scoring defense (3rd/59.0 ppg/4th in the Big 12).
  • ASU has held the opposition to 13 or fewer points in a quarter 42 times this season, including single digits 15 times. At West Virginia (Jan. 21), the Mountaineers scored more than 13 points in a quarter only one time.  
  • 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... In their 53-43 loss at West Virginia (Jan. 21), the Sun Devils held West Virginia to its second-lowest point total of the season (53), 25.6 points below its scoring average, and 11.1 percentage points below its usual 34.2 percent efficiency from beyond the arc.
  • 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.
  • ASU has forced 20 or more turnovers 13 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 Feb. 9, 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 stepped up when it mattered most. After CU made its first three shots of the fourth quarter to pull within two points, 58-56, ASU forced CU into missing seven of its last nine shots and outscored CU 21-7 over the last 7:57 of the game.
  • In their eventual 68-61 win over Arizona on Jan. 28, the Sun Devils did not allow Arizona to go ahead or tie the score after taking a 54-53 lead with seven minutes remaining. In fact, ASU scored the game’s last six points while holding Arizona scoreless over the last 2:13 of the game.
  • ASU had a similar defensive stand in its 74-69 win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 4. After leading by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, the Cowgirls came back to get within a point, 57-56 with 6:40 remaining. Just like against Arizona, the Sun Devils guarded their advantage the rest of the way as the Cowgirls were not able to tie the game or take the lead.

The defense objects

Given its success playing at home this season and given its defense has been its calling card for much of the season, the math did not add up in ASU’s 74-67 loss to Kansas State (Feb. 1), the only game ASU has lost at home this season. In that game, the Wildcats shot 51 percent for the game while also hitting 12 triples at a 60-percent clip.

The Sun Devils would emphatically prove the game against KSU was an anomaly in their next contest against Oklahoma State. Coming into the game, the Cowgirls brought one of the nation’s best offenses into Tempe.

In one of its best defensive outings of the season, ASU held OSU to only six 3-pointers (OSU came into the game third in the nation averaging 10.2 makes per game). The Cowgirls shot a paltry 22.2 percent from long range, 13.9 percentage points less than the 36.6 percent it had made coming into the game. In addition, ASU held the No. 9 scoring offense 17 points below its 86.0 scoring average and the nation’s No. 14 team in field goal percentage nearly 16 percent below its average of 47.7 percent coming into the game. In the end, the Sun Devils came away with a 74-69 win.

Bench providing valuable minutes

ASU got 21 points from its bench in its win over Oklahoma State on Feb. 4 and 24 points from its reserves vs. Baylor on Saturday. It’s the second time this season the team’s bench has had consecutive 20-point games. It also accomplished the feat when it scored 22 points vs. San Francisco (Dec. 6) and 20 points at Penn State (Dec. 9).