The official athletics site of Arizona State University Opens in a new window
ASU Home My ASU Colleges and Schools
Sun Devil Athletics
HomeHome
ASU Home My ASU Colleges and Schools
Loading

Women's Basketball plays first of consecutive road games at Arizona on Saturday

Game Notes Opens in a new window
Women's Basketball plays first of consecutive road games at Arizona on SaturdayWomen's Basketball plays first of consecutive road games at Arizona on Saturday
Sun Devil Athletics

Sun Devil WBB (20-6, 7-6 Big 12) at Arizona (11-13, 2-11 Big 12)

Up next

For the second time in as many games, the Sun Devil women’s basketball team (20-6, 7-6 Big 12) will be facing a Big 12 foe in a rematch when it plays at Arizona (11-13, 2-11) on Saturday (12 p.m. MST). ASU’s first rematch of the season produced a 71-61 win over Utah on Wednesday, a game ASU head coach Molly Miller said featured “two NCAA tournament teams going at it.”

In Salt Lake City on New Year’s Eve, ASU claimed its first win over the Utah since December 2020. Wednesday’s win made it its first season sweep of the Utes since 2018-19. A win at Arizona on Saturday would represent ASU’s first win over the Wildcats in Tucson since Feb. 18, 2018. During that same season ASU captured its last sweep over the Wildcats, this one of the plus-one variety, knocking off Arizona 75-50 in Tempe (Feb. 16) and 69-45 in Tucson (Feb. 18). It added a third win on Mar. 1, a 76-47 victory in the annual Pac-12 Tournament.

Watch/Listen

Saturday’s game at Arizona can be seen on ESPN+ (Cindy Brunson, Joan Bonvicini). It can also be heard on KDUS AM 1060 (pregame coverage will start at 11:30 a.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.  

Series notes vs. Arizona

  • ASU has won 31 of the last 46 encounters; however, UA has claimed victories in 11 of the last 15 contests. ASU’s 68-61 win last month in Tempe snapped a seven-game winning streak in the series for UA.
  • ASU’s 81-77 win at home vs. No. 6/7 Arizona in the first meeting of 2022 (Feb. 11, 2022) was the second straight upset of a Top 10 Arizona squad. ASU knocked off the No. 9 Wildcats 66-64 (OT) in the 2020-21 rematch in Tempe (Feb. 28, 2021). The win in 2022 was also ASU’s last win over a ranked opponent.
  • Arizona’s 58-53 win on Dec. 29, 2019, was its first in Tempe since 2000. ASU swept the season series in 2015, 2016 & 2018 and split with the Wildcats in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
  • Last month’s contest was a back-and-forth tilt in which ASU’s defense came through in the end. After McKinna Brackens swished a pair of free throws to give ASU a 54-53 lead, the Sun Devils did not allow Arizona to go ahead or tie the score over the last seven minutes of the game. ASU scored the game’s last six points while holding Arizona scoreless over the last 2:13 of the game. Gabby Elliott led all players with 22 points, while Brackens (13/10) and Heloisa Carrera (12/10) both posted double-doubles.

Back in the Neighborhood

Sun Devil Women’s Basketball moved back into the neighborhood of 20-win programs following its 71-61 win over Utah on Feb. 11. Under head coach Molly Miller, who tied Joseph Anders for the most wins by a first-year Sun Devil head coach – Anders had a record of 20-12 while serving as interim head coach in 2011-12 – the Sun Devils posted 20 wins for the first time since the 2019-20 season when Sun Devil Athletics Hall of Fame coach Charli Turner Thorne led ASU to a school record seven consecutive 20-win seasons. Between 2000-2021, the Sun Devils posted 20 or more wins 16 times and qualified for postseason play all but two seasons with one of those instances coming when the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to Covid-19. The cancelation prevented ASU from making what would have been its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

Sun Devils at top of the list of most improved teams in the country

As of Feb. 12, ASU was tied with McNeese State for the top spot in the nation in the largest improvement in wins from last season. ASU’s current victory total of 20 doubles the 10-22 record it had in 2024-25.

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).
  • Has won 20 or more games 11 times in her 12 seasons as a head coach (including this season). In six seasons at NCAA DII Drury, where she started her career as a head coach in 2014, Miller won no fewer than 26 games, including four seasons with 30 or more wins, and lost no more than five games in a season. Before taking the reins of the Sun Devil women’s basketball program, Miller coached five seasons at Grand Canyon University where she won more than 20 games four times, including a school record 32 victories that culminated with the program’s first invite to the NCAA Tournament in 2025.
  • Including her 32-3 record at Grand Canyon last season, Miller is  52-9 over last two seasons.
  • Has won her last 37 of her last 38 home games going back to the 2023-24 season at GCU.
  • Won her 300th game as an NCAA head coach on Nov. 13, 2025.

State of play

  • The Sun Devils (20-6, 7-6 Big 12) come into Saturday’s game in a four-way tie for seventh place with Iowa State (19-6, 7-6), Utah (16-9, 7-6) and Kansas State (14-12, 7-6) in the Big 12 standings. All four teams trail fifth-place squads Oklahoma State (19-7, 8-5) and Colorado (17-8, 8-5) by one game. With five games remaining in the regular season, three games separate first and seventh place. No. 19 West Virginia (21-5, 11-3) has a half-game lead over No. 12 Baylor (21-5, 10-3), No. 16 Texas Tech (23-3, 10-3) and No. 17 TCU (22-4, 10-3). ASU will play three of its last five games on the road starting with Saturday’s game at Arizona (11-13, 2-11). ASU will then play at Iowa State on Wednesday and will return to Tempe for its last two home games vs. Houston (7-17, 1-12) on Feb. 21 and vs. BYU (17-8, 6-7) on Feb. 25. BYU was the first squad to defeat the Sun Devils this season, coming out on top 71-62 (Jan. 3) in Provo. ASU will conclude the regular season at Texas Tech (Mar. 1).
  • As of Feb. 13, the Big 12 had 12 teams inside the top 60 of the NET rankings: TCU (11), West Virginia 21, Texas Tech (27), Baylor (28),  Oklahoma State (31), Iowa State (33), Colorado (47), ASU (48), Kansas (49), Utah (50),  BYU (56) and K-State (59).
  • With one more win, Molly Miller will set the record for the most wins in a season by a first-year Sun Devil head women’s basketball coach.
  • Gabby Elliott has the seventh-highest number of 20-point games (eight) in the Big 12, while McKinna Brackens has the fourth-highest number of 10-rebound games (seven).
  • In the second half of the last three games, Elliott has averaged 15.0 ppg, while shooting 58.3 FGs (14-24), 60 percent 3FGs (3-5) and 87.5 percent FTs (14-16).
  • ASU is 14-1 at home this season with its only loss coming vs. K-State (74-67 on Feb. 1). The Wildcats made 60 percent (12-20) of their attempts from long range and shot 51.2 percent, just the second ASU opponent to shoot 50 percent or higher this season. Since that game, the opposition (vs. Oklahoma St., at Baylor, vs. Utah) has collectively made only 35.5 percent of its FG attempts, including 21.9 percent from long distance.

Out of conference notes

  • Arizona State’s perfect 5-0 road record in out of conference play was matched only by Kentucky and Austin Peay. The only other schools in the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and Big East to play at least five true road out-of-conference games were Clemson (3-2), Tennessee (3-2), Georgia Tech (0-5) and Seton Hall (3-3). ASU out-of-conference road wins include top-100 NET teams Gonzaga (62), Santa Clara (70), Penn State (93) and Oregon State (95). It also won at Utah (50).
  • ASU went 13-0 outside of Big 12 action in 2025. UNLV is 16-8 and 11-3 in the Mountain West Conference… McNeese is 21-4 and 15-1 in the Southland. The Cowgirls are 16-1 since ASU beat them 57-47 on Dec. 5…ASU won at WCC leading Gonzaga (19-7, 11-2), at Oregon State (17-9, 9-4), at Santa Clara (19-7, 9-4) and topped San Francisco (14-10, 7-6) at home... The Zags, Beavers and Broncos are 29-6 in home games outside of the combined three losses to ASU.

Dominant Devil defense

  • As of Feb. 13, ASU is ranked among the top 65 teams in the nation in turnovers forced per game (41st/20.4/2nd in Big 12), steals per game (62nd/10.2 spg/5th in Big 12) and scoring defense (62nd/59.0 ppg/4th in the Big 12).
  • ASU has held the opposition to 13 or fewer points in a quarter 44 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 14 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.
  • Against Utah, the Sun Devils led for 38:31 of the game’s 40 minutes. The Utes were up 7-6 and 9-8 in the first quarter. ASU led 15-11 at the end of 10 minutes, got within two points in the second quarter, went to the half trailing ASU 33-30, tied the game at 39-39 and were within one point, 42-41, in the third quarter. After ASU took a 54-43 lead, the Utes pulled within four, 54-50, with 7:19 remaining. They were not able to draw any closer as ASU’s defense slammed the door shut, forcing Utah to miss seven of its last 10 shots.

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 six of its 11 road games. The last time the Sun Devils had a winning record on the road was in 2018-19 when it went 7-4.
  • Individually, Elliott (19.7 ppg, 40 pct 3FGs/5.6 rpg) and Brackens (15.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg) have combined to average 34.7 ppg.
  • ASU’s five highest single-game individual 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), 25 points at Baylor (Feb. 7) 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 5-2 this season in games decided by five points or less, including 3-2 on the road: 55-53/OT at Oregon State (Dec. 14), 68-66 at Gonzaga (Dec. 16) and 69-68 at Utah (Dec. 31). Its only losses came at Cincinnati, 66-64 (Jan. 24) and at No. 15 Baylor, 67-64 (Feb. 7).

Team notes

  • ASU has the top two rebounding games by a Big 12 team this season: vs. Utah Tech (62) and 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 19.9-13.5 in points off turnovers this season.
  • ASU has scored 20 or more points in a quarter 28 times. Earlier this season, ASU scored 43 points in the second half of consecutive games – vs. Kansas State (Feb. 1) and vs. Oklahoma State (Feb. 4) – tying the second-highest point total in the second half this season.
  • In its win at San Diego (Nov. 13), ASU tied the single-game program record for 3-pointers (14). As of Feb. 3, ASU’s 63.6 percentage from beyond the arc in that game is the second-highest 3-point shooting percentage by a Big 12 team this season.
  • Six Sun Devils have led/tied for the team lead in scoring: Elliott (12x), Brackens (10x), Carrera (4x), Washenitz (1x), Williams (1x), LoVett (1x).
  • Seven Sun Devils have scored in double figures multiple times: Elliott (24x - including last 14 games), Brackens (21x), Carrera (11x),  Washenitz (10x), LoVett (4x), Williams (4x) and Poa (2x).
  • Seven Sun Devils have led or tied for the team lead in rebounding: Brackens (12x), Carrera (8x), Elliott (6x), Deborah Davenport (4x), Washenitz (1x), Martina Fantini (1x) and Poa (1x).
  • Elliott, Carrera and Washenitz have started every game this season. Williams (three starts), LoVett and Davenport (two starts) have played in every game this season.

Individual player notes

  • Gabby Elliott scored a season-high 30 points in ASU’s win at Gonzaga (Dec 16). Two games later, McKinna Brackens topped that with a new career standard of 31 points at Utah (Dec. 31).
  • Elliott (9x), Brackens (6x) and Heloisa Carrera (3x) have combined to score 20 or more points 18x this season.
  • Four different players have posted double-doubles this season: Brackens (7), Carrera (2x), Elliott (1) and Poa (1).
  • Poa (10 assists vs. SEMO and vs. Coppin State) and Amaya 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.