Sitting squarely on the bubble, the ASU women’s basketball team watched Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show with nerves running wild.
The internal expectation was that the Sun Devils would end up as a 10, 11 or 12 seed, but other bubble teams kept filling those spots in other regions.
First, region one was filled. Then region two and region three were filled. It came down to the final region. South Dakota State was the No. 11 seed. Colorado State was the No. 12. One spot remained. When it was revealed, the Devils breathed a sigh of relief. They were going dancing for the first time since 2018-19.
“We were all looking around. We’re like, ‘Guys, the 11 seed’s gone, the 12 seed’s gone. We’ll take 15, 15 seed’s gone,” senior guard Marley Washenitz said. “So to hear our names finally called was really rewarding.”
In her first season at the helm, coach Molly Miller has her Sun Devils in the dance as a No. 10 seed with a 24-10 overall record and 9-9 mark in Big 12 play. ASU faces Virginia in a First Four matchup Thursday in Iowa City, Iowa. The winner will play No. 7 seeded Georgia on Saturday.
Virginia started the season hot, posting a 13-3 record before reaching the meat of conference play and finishing 19-11. Its 11-7 conference record was good enough for the No. 8 seed in the ACC tournament, earning a bye to the second round before losing to No. 9 seed Clemson.
While the Cavaliers are riding a three-game losing streak, their last win came against Louisville, a No. 3 seed in March Madness.
ASU went undefeated in nonconference games and didn’t pick up its first loss until Jan. 3. After recording victories over tournament teams Colorado and Oklahoma State, the Sun Devils traveled to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament, where they were positioned right on the bubble for an NCAA bid, needing some important wins to lock up a tournament spot.
After taking down Arizona for the third time in 2025-26, ASU picked up a much-needed win over Iowa State, a game that seemed to do enough to punch its ticket to the tournament.
Facing eight NCAA Tournament teams in the regular season, ASU had the 65th hardest strength of schedule in the country and still reached some impressive milestones. The Sun Devils had their best non-conference record in program history, started the season 15-0 and Miller recorded more victories during her first season in Tempe than any other ASU women’s basketball coach in their first season.
Now the Sun Devils are poised to make their return to the NCAA Tournament against the Cavaliers.
Washenitz has a special connection to Virginia. She grew up playing travel ball with the Cavaliers’ star player, junior guard Kymora Johnson, who scored a team-high 19 points per game this season.
Washenitz plays for ASU now, but her career started at Pitt, where she spent three seasons playing in the ACC. Having the opportunity to face off against a former conference opponent in Virginia has Washenitz excited.
“It’s going to be really fun to dabble back into ACC play,” she said. “It’s a lot different, but because the Big 12 is so versatile and there’s so many different styles of play, we’re ready for any opponent, any sort of style of play.”
ASU athletic director Graham Rossini knew that Miller had the ability to bring this kind of success to Tempe when he hired her from Grand Canyon University, where her 2024-25 team finished 32-3 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
“You look at her track record dating back to high school and she’s won in every level,” Rossini said. “She’s been a consistent winner. She’s been a tremendous leader. So we were excited about her bringing in that level of pedigree into our program.”
Rossini was pleased to see Miller’s vision come to fruition in 2025-26.
“The X-factor was them coming together as a unit,” Rossini said. “The chemistry, the culture, the connective tissue that they built. All those things came together in a wonderful way this season. Excitement from Day One, and that continues today as we get ready to go to the NCAA Tournament.”
Leading ASU to its first tournament appearance in six seasons, Miller credits those on the court.
“It feels good, but this moment belongs to our players,” Miller said. “They’ve poured their hearts into this season and I couldn’t be prouder of them. I’m excited for the university. I’m excited for the program.”
Echoing Rossini’s confidence, Miller said she had a special feeling while putting this roster together.
“There were a couple of moments in time where I believed that this team would be special,” she said. “The first one was when I got to know and recruiting each and every one of them.
“There was a very particular (type of) student-athlete that we’re looking to bring here to springboard this thing. It wasn’t just about being a good basketball player, it was about being a good human being, having high character, being two feet in and coachable. So when we got that, I knew that this could be a special season.”
Miller may be happy and proud of reaching the NCAA Tournament, but the first words she spoke at her post-selection show press conference made clear that she was already moving on from that excitement.
“Honestly, I can’t take my mind off of Virginia scout right now,” she said. ”That’s at the forefront of my mind.”
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