TEMPE- The Arizona State Sun Devils (17-2, 4-2 Big 12) remain undefeated at home with a bounce-back win over the Kansas Jayhawks (11-8, 1-6 Big 12), 67-51.
Sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera led the Sun Devils in scoring with a career-high 22 points while shooting 83 percent from the field, a game-high seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
During Sunday's game, she got into foul trouble in the first half, leading the Sun Devils to a blowout loss on the road to the TCU Horned Frogs.
However, Carrera returned to her dominant self in Arizona State's 17th win of the season, excelling on both ends of the floor with her scoring and defense. It was the fifth time in the last eight games that she has scored in double figures.
"Honestly, my mind was on defense today, making it hard, as she [Molly Miller] said, that was our statement today," Carrera said postgame. "So being able to defend and go on offense, it was great for my team and everyone, but our standard was making it hard for them."
"I'm proud of (Heloisa)," head coach Molly Miller added. "She said it, defense was our mentality first. And she's only a sophomore. And really, she’s on freshman minutes. She scored 22 points her freshman year, and now she's a go-to for us. Her ceiling is so high, but what she's done already in this young career, season, and program has been phenomenal, so a lot of credit to [Heloisa Carrera] for her work ethic."
Miller and the coaching staff enjoy seeing how Carrera has progressed from the first game of the season to now and has become one of the crucial players for the Sun Devils.
Her teammates, such as forward Deborah Davenport, who scored a career-high nine points while shooting perfectly (4-for-4) from the field, see the hard work Carrera has put in as a starter for Arizona State.
"(Heloisa) is a great worker," Davenport said. "She's a hard worker. I see her [putting in the work] every day. She puts in the time (and) work to get what she has [done]. So whatever we need from her, she's given. She just keeps doing that. We're gonna have a great season [because of Carrera's contributions]."
The Sun Devils also hosted "Celebrating Cultures" day at home, where Carrera, a Brazilian native, was honored.
Freshman center Martina Fantini, an Italian native, and guard Last-Tear Poa, an Australian native, were also honored in the game.
"It's really great to be recruited to come to America to play the highest level basketball and bring my IQ, Martina [Fantini's] IQ, Last-Tear [Poa's] IQ, [as] it really helps the team," Carrera said. "We see different things that some people don't see because of the culture of basketball."
The Arizona State Sun Devils will return to the road for a two-game road trip, starting with Cincinnati on Wednesday.