ASU Remains Undefeated With Blowout Home Win

The wins continue to stack for head coach Molly Miller and ASU. Off to an undefeated start, the Sun Devils picked up their fourth win in seven days on Saturday night.

A coach who was brought over to Tempe for her innate ability to win led their Sun Devils to their eighth win of the season in an 85-56 victory over Southeast Missouri State.

“This one felt good,” Miller said. “It was more complete, and the energy never stopped. It all starts with our defense.”

It was another stellar defensive performance from ASU, forcing 26 turnovers. The Sun Devils’ defense plucked 13 steals and scored 27 points off of them.

They also held the Redhawks to 34.5 percent shooting from the field, but allowed a staggering 12-27 from the three-point line.

“I thought they were a dribble-drive-oriented team, so you can’t take away both always,” Miller said. “I thought we did a good job of taking away the paint, and they only had 10 paint points. So the counter to that is if they’re hitting threes, sometimes you’ve got to live with it.”

ASU was led by double-doubles by senior guard Last-Tear Poa and sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera. Poa racked up 12 points and 10 assists while Carrera notched 21 points and 10 rebounds on the night.

It was Carrera’s first-ever collegiate career double-double after not getting much playing time last season at Ole Miss as a freshman.

“That’s how we want to play every time, playing together, sharing the ball, looking at each other every time,” Carerra said. “So it feels great.”

The Sun Devils struggled once again from the three-point line, going just 3-18 from long distance and bringing their season average down to almost 30 percent.

“I think we know what our identity should look like and feel like and sound like, Miller said. “So, when you’re off your course with the brand of basketball, you have to have leaders to get you back on course, play, and be a spark out there.”

This game was the second for the Sun Devils in a round-robin style tournament hosted by ASU, which also included Southeast Missouri State, Arkansas-Little Rock, and San Diego.

Next weekend, they will also host another similarly scheduled event at Mullet Arena with McNeese State, San Francisco, and Nevada.

“I did that last year too, where I scheduled two almost tournaments, like when you play two games in three days or two games back-to-back,” Miller said.

ASU’s first game in the Briann January classic will be next Friday, Dec. 5, at 6:30 local time against McNeese State.