Women’s Basketball opens 2026-27 season with impressive 84-41 win over Jackson State
TEMPE – The second season of the Molly Miller era got off to an outstanding start as the Sun Devil women’s basketball team overwhelmed Jackson State 84-41 on Monday night.
For the Sun Devils, it was their 14th win in as many games in non-conference, regular season contests under Miller. Last season the Sun Devils went 13-0 in November and December on their way to the best start in program history (15-0).
The Sun Devils (1-0) quickly shrugged off any opening night jitters – the Tigers (0-1) held leads of 8-0 and 11-2 in the first four-plus minutes of the game – and methodically went about their business.
Most Sun Devil points past five seasons/2022-23 to present
96 vs. Arkansas State (11/8/24)
95 vs. South Dakota (11/27/24)
88 vs. Iowa State at Kansas City (3/6/25)
85 vs. Southeast Missouri State (11/29/25)
85 at BYU (12/22/24)
84 vs. Jackson State (11/2/26)
Despite Jackson State’s early offensive success, ASU went on to post a defensive performance that was more fitting of a team playing in January. The 41 points tied the fewest points scored by a 2025-26 Sun Devil opponent and were the fewest since a 72-40 win over Idaho State on Nov. 19, 2023.
How dominant was ASU on both ends of the floor? It outscored the Tigers 82-30 after Heloisa Carrera’s layup got ASU within seven, 11-4, with 5:41 remaining in the opening stanza.
Offensively, Carrera (15 points/12 in the first half) and McKinna Brackens (14 points/12 in the first half) combined for 24 of their 29 points in the first 20 minutes.
Freshman sharpshooter Averie Lower tied for the team high in scoring with 15 points, accounting for five of the team’s 11 makes from beyond the arc. Also scoring in double figures were Deborah Davenport (10 points) and Rashunda Jones (10 points), who scored all of their points in the second half.
Carrera (team-high nine rebounds) and Brackens (eight rebounds) both came close to posting opening night double-doubles. Amaya Williams started her second season as a Sun Devil with a career-high seven boards to go with four assists.
ASU’s 26 assists represented the highest total of helpers under Miller. Jones (six assists) and fellow newcomer Ruby Whitehorn (six assists, eight points) tied for the team lead in assists.
In her Sun Devil debut, Ella Ryan scored eight points. In addition to Lower, Ryan (two), Jones (two) and Davenport (two) also had multiple 3-pointers.
Following Jackson State’s early success, it took less than four minutes for an entire role reversal to occur as Brackens’ layup with 6:15 remaining started a brilliant stretch in which ASU drained seven of its next eight attempts. Carrera (5-5 FGs) and Brackens (2-2 FGs, 1-1 FT) were perfect from the floor during the early game-changing sequence as the duo outscored Jackson State 15-3 to put ASU up 15-11.
The Sun Devils did not trail for the remainer of the game after the fourth of Carrera’s five makes broke an 11-11 tie.
An extraordinary defensive effort by the Sun Devils over the last 15-plus minutes of the half was the other main storyline of the first 20 minutes. After making four of their first nine shots, it took the Tigers 18 attempts to make their next four baskets. ASU stymied Jackson State’s offense both inside and outside the arc. Although the Tigers hit a pair of triples to build their early lead, they went 0-8 the rest of the half.
Carrera (12 points, 6-8 FGs), Brackens (12 points, 6-8 FGs) and Lower (made both of ASU’s 3-pointers in the first half) combined for 30 points to give the Sun Devils a 34-21 lead at the intermission.
ASU outscored the Tigers 50-20 in the second half. The Sun Devils’ point total represented the third time ASU has scored 50 or more points in a half under Miller, while Jackson State’s 20 points established a new low given up by ASU in a half under Miller.
The Sun Devils put on an excellent shooting display in the final 20 minutes, connecting on 58 percent of their attempts (18-31), including 53 percent from long range (9-17).
The Sun Devils will play their second of two home games this week when they host NAU on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.