Last-minute Poa Three Propels ASU to OT Win Over Oregon State

(Photo: Sun Devil Athletics)

CORVALLIS – Graduate guard Last-Tear Poa only took two shots all game for Arizona State, but her final attempt tore Oregon State’s hearts out and emerged as the biggest make of the afternoon for either team.

Poa’s game-winning three-pointer from the left corner hit nothing but net with 16 seconds left in overtime, clinching a 55-53 victory over the Beavers (6-5) and pushing the Sun Devils’ record-breaking program start to 12-0.

In a scrappy, defensive contest where both teams struggled to generate quality looks, ASU was just able to edge past Oregon State despite a season-worst 35.6 percent shooting from the field. The Beavers’ roster features nine players towering over six feet tall, and their length and size certainly bothered the Sun Devils.

Oregon State controlled the glass, outrebounding ASU by 12, the largest negative differential for the Sun Devils this season. While the Beavers weren’t able to capitalize on that advantage, turning nine offensive rebounds into seven second-chance points, their physicality inside posed numerous problems on both ends.

ASU finished a paltry 17-46 (37 percent) on two-pointers for the game, the first time it’s been held under 40 percent inside the arc this season. A large dose of those misses arose from trying to get two of its go-to scorers, graduate guard Gabby Elliott and senior guard Marley Washenitz, in rhythm.

Elliott, in particular, had a game to forget. On the back of a 27-point effort against Penn State earlier this week, her second-highest tally across her five years, Elliott had the least-efficient performance of her collegiate career with seven points on 2-16 shooting from the field.

The fifth-year guard wasn’t perturbed, however, sticking a 15-footer late in the fourth to give ASU a three-point lead. That shot proved to be monumental, as senior Oregon State guard Tiara Bolden nailed a three from the left wing 20 seconds later to send the game into OT, tied at 50 apiece.

The Sun Devils’ scoring struggles continued in the extra period. Before Poa’s three, ASU was only 1-6 from the field, with the one bucket a second-chance opportunity when junior forward McKinna Brackens snatched an offensive rebound off an Elliott misfire and laid the ball in off the window.

Brackens, like the rest of the Sun Devils, started the game off slowly, playing an abnormally low six minutes in the first half and taking just one shot. But in the game’s most pivotal moments, ASU’s second-leading scorer came alive. Brackens scored nine of her team-high 12 points in the fourth quarter and extra period, on an efficient 80 percent shooting.

With the majority of the Maroon and Gold struggling early in the contest, sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera took on the scoring responsibility. Carrera consistently sealed her defender deep in the post to toss in hooks and even drained a mid-range jumper from the left elbow when given space in Oregon State’s zone.

The Brazil native’s 12 points tied Brackens for the team lead, accounting for the final two Sun Devil baskets of the first half and the first two of the second.

The ball didn’t roll ASU’s way, but its saving grace was the defensive end. The back-and-forth showdown was riddled with several lengthy scoring droughts and the Sun Devils were able to contain the Beavers to 32.3 percent shooting throughout the second half and overtime.

Even with the game’s hard-nosed nature, ASU limited Oregon State to a season-low five trips to the charity stripe, while forcing a season-high 21 turnovers that turned into 12 points. Washenitz and Elliott led the way with four steals apiece, a testament to their all-around effort during a game where both had subpar offensive outings.

The Sun Devils’ victory continues a pattern of pulling through in close games – this is now ASU’s third single-digit victory after an 82-77 win over Santa Clara in mid-November and a 56-53 triumph over UNLV punctuated by a game-winning Washenitz three. There’s a fine line between gaining valuable late-game experience and consistently being a part of tight finishes, but the Sun Devils have been able to walk that tightrope so far this season.

Head coach Molly Miller didn’t inherit a championship-level roster, but her leadership has positioned ASU as one of five teams in the nation with a 12-0 record. With the Sun Devils on the road once again on Dec. 16, they’ll get another shot at extending the unbeaten streak against Gonzaga and making a push towards the AP top-25.