TEMPE- The Arizona State Sun Devils made improvements from their season opener to improve to 2-0 throughout the season after getting a win over the Eastern Washington Eagles, 73-58.
Head coach Molly Miller identified two key areas for improvement: pacing and taking care of the ball. She is now just one win away from reaching 300 career victories as a head coach and has secured 32 wins in non-NCAA Tournament games since the start of last season.
The Sun Devils excelled defensively and had four players score in double figures, making a significant impact offensively.
“We want a big margin every quarter," MIller said Saturday. "My goal is to hold the other team to single-digit quarters, and that's hard to do. And we got two of them. We held them to nine points in the first and eight points in the third. We were more consistent offensively each quarter, so that consistency is good to see. We're going to shoot a lot of free throws in the coming practices because we left some points on the board there.”
Arizona State fifth-year guard Gabby Elliott mentioned that defending the ball and turning turnovers into points are what Miller continues to emphasize, along with the pacing.
The Sun Devils turned the Eagles' 19 turnovers into 22 points scored off turnovers and had 11 steals throughout the game. Two of the starters, junior forward McKinna Brackens and senior guard Marley Washenitz, had three steals each.
"It's a big part of what Molly is preaching," Elliott said. "A lot of our offense is going to come from defense, and that's really what she preached about. Don't get me wrong, she cares about offense and all that, but it's going to start with defense for her. And we are really starting to pick up on that, and it's carrying us right now in a good way, but that's the team we want to be, to focus on defense and to get the easy baskets."
Freshman guard Amaya Williams filled in for Last-Tear Poa, who missed Saturday's game due to a hand injury and is considered "day-to-day."
In the second quarter, she scored four of her 10 points and helped contribute to the Sun Devils' flow of the game on both ends of the court.
“We're a little bit more settled, I would say," Miller said. "But also, we focused on some things on practice, and we always want that carryover in order for us to take the steps necessary. We're so far from where we're gonna be and where we're going. We have a lot of work to do.
"But what was great in this moment too, is when you have a fallen soldier, one went out, [Last-Tear] Poa, you got a freshman stepping up and scoring double digits in her first collegiate start. So, the worst thing that can happen, I tell these kids, is not that your number is not called immediately or when you think it should be called, it's when it is called, you're not ready. And so kudos to Jyah [LoVett] and Amaya [Williams] for being ready in Poa’s absence.”
Throughout the start of the game, Arizona State got aggressive in scoring in the paint and drawing fouls.
At the beginning of the third quarter, fifth-year guard Gabby Elliott scored five of her 15 points to give Arizona State its largest lead of the game. She also scored her 1,000th point of her collegiate career.
“Honestly, it feels great," Elliott said. "It's been a long time coming. If you know any of my background, I've been around a couple schools, a couple injuries. I feel like getting that really just beat the odds, make sure I got the game ball. We got a dub. I'm feeling real good, not gonna lie. Not a lot of people make it to 1000, especially with my story. So all glory to God and shout out to my teammates today for sure.”
The Sun Devils have maintained momentum since the tipoff. After their victory against the Eagles, they still have work to do to reach their goals for the season.
The next game, Arizona State will travel on the road for a two-game road trip to face San Diego on Thursday, November 13.