TEMPE- Arizona State women's basketball head coach Molly Miller spoke to the media on Friday during practice in Tempe.
She said that fifth-year guard Last-Tear Poa will miss Saturday's home game against Eastern Washington due to a hand injury. She suffered the injury during the Sun Devils' win in the season opener over Coppin State on Monday.
"She'll be out for this game, but after today, it's going to be a day-to-day basis," Miller said Friday. "Just the recovery for her will depend a lot on these next 24-48 hours."
Arizona State will need to put an emphasis on putting together a complete game for the full 40 minutes of play.
During the season opener, the Sun Devils trailed by nearly double digits in the third quarter and went on to outscore the Eagles, 27-10, in the fourth quarter to take the victory.
“The biggest thing we apply is trying to translate that fourth quarter that we had into a good first three quarters,” Arizona State guard Gabby Elliott said.
In the Sun Devils' victory on Monday, Elliott became only the second player in Big 12 Conference history this century to achieve at least 15 points, four rebounds, and seven steals in a season opener.
The first player to accomplish this feat was Morenike Atunrase, a guard/forward from Texas A&M, during the 2006-07 season.
Additionally, Elliott and guard Marley Washenitz served as the defensive anchors for Arizona State, combining for a total of 11 steals.
Miller discussed building success for the Sun Devils by transforming small wins to significant victories on a daily basis.
"It's a build, a daily build," Miller said. And in non-conference, you want to make sure that you're doing the right things when you're supposed to. And then when you're building on those other things that don't look so good, and you want to see changes every game going into non-conference, going into conference, and hopefully there's a good projectile upward trend there."
With guards Jyah LoVett and Makayla Moore being the only returning players from last season, Arizona State is optimistic about relying on these two for the advice they will provide to Miller's coaching staff and new players throughout the season.
“I had to ask Jaya (LoVett) which tunnel we go out the second time," Miller said after Arizona State's win Monday. So, even to get the lay of the land, those two (Jyah LoVett and Makayla Moore) have just welcomed me with open arms.
"Sometimes that’s hard to do because they picked the school, but they didn’t necessarily pick me as their coach. So, they’ve really bought into what we’re trying to do, and a lot of credit goes to those kids. When they were dealt these cards, they just said, ‘All right, I’m game. I’m with you, coach.’ That means a lot to me when everyone is speaking the same language and is on the same page. Those two are a big part of that.”
The Arizona State Sun Devils will face the Eastern Washington Eagles at home on Saturday in Tempe.