Sun Devils’ Aggresive Play Paramount in Rivalry Win

Photo: Jack Simon (WCSN)

TEMPE — To Arizona State women’s basketball, rivalry means everything. Even enough to do extra homework.

Ahead of the Sun Devils’ Wednesday game against intrastate rival Arizona, senior guard Makayla Moore made her own newspaper clipping, detailing the history of the Territorial Cup rivalry and put it in each of her teammates’ lockers.

“We don’t say their name,” the paper reads. “We cross out the A’s. We call them the School Down South.”

ASU came out of the locker room embodying that seriousness and carried it through the game. The Sun Devils came out on top against the Wildcats, 68-61.

ASU moved to 18-4 on the season and gets on the right side of .500 in Big 12 play at 5-4.

Arizona and Arizona State fans alike, packed the stands to watch the “Duel in the Desert,” with 6,121 fans in attendance, belting cheers all game.

At some moments, the “U-of-A” chants rang louder than their “A-S-U” counterparts.

With 44 seconds left in the game, graduate guard Gabby Elliott ripped the ball from Arizona’s Kamryn Kitchens, drove down the court and forced a foul.

For a brief moment as she clutched the ball, ready to shoot her first free throw, the arena went silent. Arizona fans sat, wondering if Elliott’s foul shots would seal the game for the Sun Devils. ASU fans engaged in tradition, keeping silent while their team was at the line.

Elliott nailed both, giving ASU a 66-61 advantage, which they would only expand on until the clock hit zero.

As the buzzer sounded, Arizona fans started to make their way out of the arena, already Google-mapping their drives back to Tucson, whereas ASU, on the other hand, gallivanted around the court, high-fiving everyone in sight.

18 bell rings sounded through Desert Financial Arena, one for each Sun Devil win this season.

Head coach Molly Miller couldn’t help but take it all in, looking around the arena, pumping her fist in the air to hype up the crowd. Her first Territorial Cup win. ASU’s first since 2022.

“I wish I could go fist bump and hug all 6,000+ of them,” she said.

The Sun Devils grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and had an equal number of second-chance points.

“That’s who we are,” Miller said. “We are not the first and second effort. We are the third, fourth, and fifth effort.”

In addition to second-chance points, Miller has preached aggressive defense all year. Her players truly epitomized the sentiment on Wednesday, in the spirit of rivalry.

The Sun Devils forced 20 turnovers and converted them into 22 points.

Molly Miller’s culture at ASU is starting to become clear. Defense, rebounding and creating second chances.

Culture was something ASU has lacked since Charli Turner Thorne was its coach. Ironically, Thorne was on the sideline and at some points in the Sun Devils’ huddle on Wednesday.

Miller put it best as she entered the media room for her postgame press conference.

“If you don’t like that, you don’t like Sun Devil basketball.”