Sun Devils’ Offense Explodes in Massive Victory Over Houston

(Photo: Scott Russomano/WCSN)

TEMPE – It’s said that everything is bigger in Texas, and the missing pieces of ASU’s game that it lacked all year came up huge against the University of Houston. All year, ASU’s ability to compete on the offensive end was lacking, often losing crucial games against teams such as Kansas State, Cincinnati, and West Virginia because of it. Finally, on Saturday afternoon, it woke up. 

 

The Cougars set the tone, hitting two shots from behind the arc to start, but the Sun Devils took that momentum as their own and rode it to an 81-56 Victory. Senior guard Marley Washenitz got the scoring started with 12 points in the first quarter, going 3-5 from three. 

 

“Here was Marley’s job description: don’t foul, be smart, aggressive, and rise up and hit a shot with confidence,” Miller said. “She did both those things today.” 

 

Per usual, the Sun Devils pace was very upbeat, but it finally played to their advantage as they moved the ball extremely well. ASU was exposing every hole it could find in the Houston defense, backcutting and scoring on all three levels. It felt as though it was untouchable.

 

“They were extremely tough,” Houston head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “They executed at a high level offensively, and they were hard for us to guard.” 

 

In the first alone, it scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds, for a team that sits tenth in the conference in offensive boards; this was quite uncharacteristic. However, the trend continued, and by the end of the first half, ASU had 26 rebounds; not only that, but it also scored 11 second-chance points. 

 

By this point, Washenitz’s teammates had joined in on the fun, with sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera matching her in points and grabs off the glass with 12 each. Junior foward Mckinna brakens almost matched them with 11 points after 2 quarters as ASU led 49-27, scoring its second-most points in a half this season. 

 

Despite the score, as familiar to Molly Miller’s squad, ASU was displaying full court press and diving across the floor to get any looks possible. Junior guard Jyah Lovett, in particular, put on a show, taking multiple isolations to the rim, including a physical buzzer-beating layup to close out the half. 

 

In the third quarter, the Courgars responded defensively. While the Sun Devils were still getting good looks on offense, they weren’t as easy to come by. After scoring ten points of its own, the Courgars put on a full-court press and eventually forced a shot clock violation, leaving coach Miller visibly upset, shaking her head on the sideline. 

 

This took the Sun Devils out of rhythm offensively, despite a layup by Brackens. The defensive press by the Cougars was leading to turnovers and points for Houston. With some more late-quarter magic, Lovett again took an isolation and forced a three-point play after an and-one foul, shifting some momentum back to the Devils bench. 

 

The Cougars got the lead down to 12 in the final quarter, but just as things were looking interesting, ASU got its offensive mojo back. 

 

Throughout the game, Carrera was the Sun Devils most consistent scorer, dominating in the paint, and in the final 10 minutes, she took over, finishing with 23 points on the day. 

 

“Shoutout to Elle today,” Miller said, “she checked in and did her job.” 

 

In just a matter of minutes, ASU had gotten its lead back up to 20 points, despite a strong presence by the women in the red and black. 

 

With this win, ASU is currently slotted in the final spot for the NCAA Tournament, but it still has a lot of work to do. 

 

“That’s not enough for us,” Washenitz said, “we want more, and I love that about our team, were never satisfied.” 

 

The Sun Devils will take on BYU at home Wednesday, which they lost to previously, and they know it will be no easy feat. 

 

“They’re a really good team,” Washenitz said, “being able to get that revenge is something we definitely want.”

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