Overview – Koah Ferrer
Arizona State women’s basketball coach Molly Miller did what she set out to do, at least initially.
For the first time in seven years, the Sun Devils enter a campaign off the back of an NCAA Tournament appearance. Yet, as Miller begins her second season in Tempe, the challenges of bringing a program back to the big dance have been replaced by the hardships of sustaining success in the ever-changing landscape of college basketball.
Big losses in production, new players and tournament projections are obstacles and distractions the second-year head coach will have to navigate throughout the 2026-27 season if she wants to continue building a winning culture in the Valley.
The Miller era at ASU began with a bang. Fifteen wins in her first 15 games—the best start in program history. lHowever, that early momentum faded once the Sun Devils entered Big 12 play. ASU went 9-9 in conference, ending the regular season with a 24-11 record. That .500 winning percentage left the Sun Devils ninth in the Big 12 and made the tournament goal a steeper climb.
Miller had her team ready, however, as she led ASU to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, which was enough for the Sun Devils to hear their names drawn against Virginia as a First Four team on Selection Sunday.
ASU eventually lost to Virginia in the First Four, but left Miller with valuable takeaways from year one in Tempe.
“I think from a basketball mind standpoint, how I’m operating is we won games because of our defense last year,” Miller said. “Our offense [this year] is maybe a little bit more ahead of our defense, which is unique for one of my teams, so we’re going to have to focus again on the defensive end because we know we can win ball games if we play good defense in this league.”
“We can’t rely on defense every game,” Miller said. “We’re going to have to outscore some people this year and that’s where you get to the next level on both sides of the ball.”
As Miller’s reign hit year two, the expectations for her and her squad heightened after what was achieved last season.
According to ESPN’s 2027 NCAA Tournament Bracketology, ASU currently is projected to earn a tournament bid as a six seed. Despite the buzz and excitement around her squad, Miller doesn’t want an official stamp on the program’s goals.
“We don’t have a goal to make the tournament,” Miller said. “We don’t have a goal to make the Sweet 16. If we are obsessed with what we do daily, we will figure out a way to get better and go further and that’s what this team has to do right now.”
“I’m really focused about the daily habits because then if you’re obsessed with that and being great, you’ll get to where you want to be,” Miller said.
As excitement builds ahead of the season, ASU fans can rest assured that Miller and her squad are ready to meet expectations, and they can have faith in the program’s trajectory.
Roster Preview – Jhainier Gonzalez, Joseph Sciarrino
When Molly Miller first recruited talent to Arizona State in 2025, she relied on her vision and reputation at Grand Canyon University to show players why becoming a Sun Devil was the right choice.
But after Miller punched ASU’s ticket into The Big Dance in her first year, she acquired a new way of hooking recruits to the Valley.
Results.
“What stood out to me was (ASU’s) culture and how much she (Molly Miller) was winning and how fast it happened,” fourth-year guard Rashunda Jones said. “Whenever I was scrolling on my For You page, I would actually see it (the wins) while actively being in season.”
USAToday.com ranked ASU’s transfer portal class as the fourth best in the nation, with Jones leading the way as the Sun Devils top prospect.
While at Michigan State last year, Jones guided the Spartans to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, averaging 11.7 points per game, 3.4 assists per game and 2.2 steals per game.
One of her most notable performances occurred on the road against No. 23 Washington.
The top 40 women’s college basketball transfer achieved her first-ever double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds against the Huskies, adding to her 19 total double-digit scoring games as a Spartan.
Although Jones showcased her offensive abilities while at Michigan State, it wasn’t the only tool in her proverbial toolbelt.
On Jan. 27, the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist featured Jones, who, at the time, had the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio (12.35) in the Big Ten and 53 steals.
Although fourth-year Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo ultimately won the award, Jones finished with an impressive 67 steals and 66 defensive rebounds.
ASU’s Michigan-area talent acquisitions didn’t stop at Jones: third-year forward Ayanna-Sarai Darrington and third-year guard Madison Morson both left Central Michigan to join Miller’s roster.
The former Chippewas only needed two seasons to catch the collegiate basketball world’s attention.
In Morson’s first season, she scored the most points by a freshman in CMU program history (511), along with receiving the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year award.
In the following season, Morson achieved the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year award, becoming the first player in Central Michigan history to win both the freshman and conference player of the year awards.
While the Detroit native polished her trophy case, Darrington etched her name into CMU history through her work in the paint.
On Dec. 25, 2025, Darrington finished with a career-high 27 points and 21 rebounds against Ohio, marking CMU’s first-ever 20-point, 20-rebound game.
The Kentucky native also led the MAC in both shooting percentage (56.7 percent) and average offensive rebounds per game (3.57) in the 2025-26 season.
Although ASU received a well-rounded shooter in Darrington, it still craved more offensive threats.
Particularly, from beyond the arc.
That’s where second-year Sun Devil guard Ella Ryan comes in.
At Quinnipiac, Ryan led her squad in 3-point field goal percentage (41.2 percent), paving the way for MAAC All-Rookie honors.
Now, surrounded by a plethora of talented Sun Devil guards, Ryan believes the competition will take her game to the next level.
“We’re great about knowing (that) someone else’s win isn’t my loss,” Ryan said. “… It’s just amazing to be around people who have the same mentality and want to be great.”
One of those guards battling alongside Ryan this year is fourth-year Sun Devil guard Ruby Whitehorn.
As a five-star athlete in high school, Whitehorn received the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year award, was a McDonald’s All-American and was the No. 2 guard on espnW’s 100 list.
In college, that success continued.
In her Clemson debut, Whitehorn finished with 17 points and nine rebounds, kickstarting her ACC All-Freshman recognition campaign.
Over the next two years at Clemson and Tennessee, Whitehorn posted 44 double-digit point games, sank 54 three-pointers and earned a spot on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watch List.
Despite all of these decorated resumes, learning a new coaching style can confuse even the best of players.
Luckily for the transfers, the Sun Devil returners have already gone through this process.
“Knowing how games work (and) how Molly likes to run things… instead of having them (newcomers) always ask a coach, they can just come to one of us, the returners,” second-year Sun Devil guard Amaya Williams said.
Arizona State women’s basketball will have some familiar faces to build around next season, but the backcourt will look considerably different.
The Sun Devils lost nine players from their 2025-26 roster, including three starters: Gabby Elliott, Marley Washenitz, and Last-Tear Poa. The departures leave a significant hole in the team’s production.
Elliott was one of three Sun Devils who started all 35 games. She averaged 15 points and just under five rebounds per game while shooting 40% from the field.
In 35 games, she scored in double figures 29 times while averaging just under two steals per game.
Elliott’ best outing came against Gonzaga, where she tallied 30 points and four steals, helping secure a two-point win in one of the last few matches before conference play.
Elliott was named to the 2026 All-Big 12 Third Team. Now, the Sun Devils will have to look elsewhere.
Along with Elliott, the Sun Devils also lost Washenitz, who also started all 35 games alongside Elliott.
Washenitz was the team’s defensive anchor, leading the team with 1.9 steals per contest, which ranked ninth in the Big 12.
Along with her defense, she averaged 7.9 ppg, fourth in scoring. Despite her scoring and defense, fans will remember Washenitz for her “Hail Marley.”
In just the fifth game of the season against UNLV, the game was tied with about eight seconds remaining. Elliot lost the ball, Washenitz scooped it up, and heaved it. The ball banked off the glass, giving ASU the win against UNLV and keeping the Sun Devils undefeated.
The Sun Devils must now wait and see who will be their hero. The Sun Devils lost two of last season’s five leading scorers in Elliott and Washenitz.
The losses extend beyond scoring and defense. Arizona State will also have to replace one of its most experienced playmakers in Last-Tear Poa.
Poa started 31 games with Elliott and Washenitz. Poa averaged 4.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. Her numbers may not tell the whole story. Poa brought veteran leadership, tenacious defense, and a championship pedigree. The fifth-year guard was with the LSU Tigers when they won their national championship.
Schedule – Annika Hietanen, Cameron Kritzer
For Arizona State Women’s basketball, non-conference play offers a vision of the Sun Devils’ potential. After stringing together a record 13-0 mark in non-conference play last season, ASU is looking to repeat the same impressive start.
While last season’s run sets a high standard, this year’s roster brings a different combination of experience and new additions.
The Sun Devils tip off their season at home on Monday, November 2, at Desert Financial Arena against the Jackson State Tigers, followed by Northern Arizona University. The Tigers averaged 16.5 turnovers per game in 2025-2026. In addition, NAU added ten players to their roster.
“[Jackson State] is going to pressure; they’re going to play high pace, high tempo,” head coach Molly Miller said. “Exactly what we want to see out of the gates is to put us on our heels.”
These challenges force the Sun Devils to execute immediately, rather than easing into the season.
ASU’s first road test comes in their third game, against UNLV. This competition presents a different challenge.
“Playing away from home is really, really hard,” Second-year Amaya Williams said, one of the Sun Devils who played in all 35 games last season.
After Las Vegas, ASU will return home to face Penn State. A Power Four opponent, the matchup could give ASU a better indication of where it stands.
After facing the Nittany Lions, ASU will have an opportunity to build consistency through a stretch of home games against San Diego, Santa Clara and San Jose State. This stretch allows the Sun Devils to sharpen their execution before finishing non-conference play.
ASU’s schedule will reach another level toward the end of November, beginning with the Briann January Classic, where the Sun Devils will compete in two games in two days in Tempe.
One of the most anticipated matchups comes on Dec. 6, when the Sun Devils welcome Gonzaga to Tempe after a 68-66 ASU win last season came down to a blocked shot within the final seconds. Both teams feature strong defensive pressure and high-scoring key returners.
The highlight of the Sun Devils’ final four non-conference games is their matchup against the Stanford Cardinal, an old Pac-12 foe.
ASU will travel to Northern California to face an historically proficient three-point shooting team and free-flowing offense. In addition, the Cardinal attract a dedicated and loyal fanbase that may give the Sun Devils trouble.
While replicating last season’s undefeated non-conference record would be an impressive accomplishment, the grand scheme extends beyond the win column. The Sun Devils will use these matchups to establish their identity, prepare for Big 12 competition and build chemistry within the team.
