Tenacious and relentless.
Those are the words Arizona State coach Molly Miller used to describe her team heading into the season. On Monday night, the Sun Devils backed it up.
From the opening tip to the final whistle, the Sun Devils played full throttle in a 67-53 win over Coppin State at Desert Financial Arena in Miller’s debut.
“Diving on the floor for loose balls, taking charges and getting offensive rebounds,” Miller said. “I think that is going to be a staple of our culture that you will see game in and game out.”
That tone was set early, when sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera drew a charging foul less than two minutes into the game. Later, senior guard Marley Washenitz took another charge to ignite the Sun Devil bench.
“She (Miller) says that a charge in women’s basketball is like a slam dunk in men’s basketball,” Washenitz said. “We want to feed off that energy and use that momentum.”
Miller promised a gritty style of play when Arizona State hired her after she led Grand Canyon to a Western Athletic Conference championship and took a team on a 30-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament. She replaced Natasha Adair, who won only 29 games in three seasons.
And that grit showed up on the court and in the box score. ASU forced 33 turnovers and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, putting together a tireless effort on both ends of the floor.
Even on a night when ASU did not have its best offensive rhythm, the Sun Devils’ hustle and defense carried them. ASU scored 37 points off turnovers and added 11 second-chance points.
“Defense is our main priority,” Washenitz said. “Obviously, you try to outscore the other team, but for us, it’s that blue-collar mentality: Every 50/50 ball is ours. You saw that tonight. We were all over the floor.”
Washenitz ended the night with a game-high 17 points and four steals.
Through the first three quarters, the Sun Devils found themselves in a dogfight with the Eagles, and even trailed entering the fourth. However, in the final frame, Miller’s brand of basketball shined.
ASU forced 11 turnovers in the final period, leading to 19 of its 27 fourth-quarter points. Fifth-year guard Gabby Elliott led the surge with eight points in the quarter, ending the night with 16 points and seven steals.
Junior forward McKinna Brackens also made some big shots down the stretch.
“We call her Buckets,” Elliott said.
“Buckets” Brackens ended the night with 14 points, eight rebounds and three stocks (steals plus blocks).
With four Sun Devils in double figures and fifth-year guard Last-Tear Poa dishing out 10 assists, the chemistry of Miller’s squad is seemingly ahead of schedule.
“Molly and the coaching staff did their job already with building their relationships with us, so now that the season is here, they know how to get the best out of us and get what we need from each individual, and that’s the best part,” Elliott said. “We’re beyond the building relationships part. We’re family now.”
With some rust still to shake off, the Sun Devils opened their season with a high-energy, blue-collar performance and a statement win to set the tone.
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