It's been a season full of signature moments for the Arizona State women's basketball team. Marley Washenitz's Hail Marley heave was an early highlight, and it was quickly followed with the best start in program history.
Now, Molly Miller has her first win over the hated Arizona Wildcats.
Coming off their first consecutive losses of the year, the Sun Devils needed to bounce back. A two-game road trip resulted in zero wins, but coming home to face off against a struggling Arizona team was just what the doctor ordered.
The game was much closer than expected, largely due to the sharpshooting of Kamryn Kitchen, who connected on three of six attempts from beyond the arc. Kitchen started off red hot, which helped set things up for her teammates as Arizona State adjusted to limit her contributions.
Kitchen would later become one of three different Wildcats to foul out in what was a very chippy game. Arizona State didn't have anyone foul out, but Washenitz - who has been no stranger to accumulating fouls with the relentless style of defense she plays - did finish one foul shy of being disqualified.
On top of the foul numbers, Washenitz had another vintage game, finishing with 11 points and going 50% from three. She also added 3 steals and helped contribute to several more.
The Sun Devils dominated the paint, too. McKinna Brackens and Heloisa Carrera both finished with double-doubles, with Brackens posting 13 poins and 10 rebounds while Carrera had 12 and 10. Carrera was also huge on the defensive end with 3 blocks.
Yet it was Gabby Elliott, as it's been most of this season, leading the way on offense. She finished with 22 points, most of any player on the court tonight. She did this despite missing all four of her three-point attempts, highlighting just how effective Elliott was at getting to the basket. She also hit all eight free throw attempts.
With 1:52 left in the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils led by just one point. But the Sun Devil defense locked in from there, shutting out the Wildcats the rest of the way. Brackens, Elliott, and Washenitz all added two free throws apiece to pad the lead before the final buzzer sounded on a 68-61 victory.
This win marks the Sun Devils' first win over their rivals since February 11, 2022. They snapped a six-game losing streak to the Wildcats and broke their own two-game losing streak in the season. It wasn't easy, but rivalry games rarely are.
The morale boost from this one can help catapult the Sun Devils into the second half of their Big 12 schedule.