3 Takeaways From ASU's Win Over Eastern Washington

The Sun Devils officially opened up the Molly Miller era with a 2-0 record.

ASU Sun Devils guard Gabby Elliott (0) drives past Coppin State Bald Eagles forward Sydney Burris (21) and guard Khila Morris (24) at Desert Financial Arena on Nov. 3, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The Arizona State women's basketball program has kicked off the first year of the Molly Miller era in Tempe with a 2-0 mark.

The 73-58 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday afternoon comes exactly one calendar year after losing a non-conference game to Arkansas State - showing a significant change has come in recent months.

Arizona State on SI breaks down three major takeaways from the win below.

Sun Devil Offense Takes Off

ASU Sun Devils forward McKinna Brackens (21) grabs a rebound over Coppin State Bald Eagles guard Kylie Wells (5) at Desert Financial Arena on Nov. 3, 2025. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The team only scored six more points in the follow-up to the opener - but the offense looked much stronger as a whole.

Jyah LoVett, Marley Washenitz, and Gabby Elliott were joined by freshman Amaya Williams - who received the start over injured G Last-Tear Poa - in double figure scoring totals.

The offense generated 62 shots, took 26 free throws, grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, and shot the ball better in totality in this contest, despite the three-point volume being lower.

Still Issues to Work Through

There will be issues that coach Miller will continue to stress improving on in the coming days - this includes free-throw shooting and bridging the challenge of exerting physicality with avoiding fouls.

The Sun Devils left 13 points on the board off of missed free throws, as they went 13-26 at the line. This included four misses from Wasenitz, who is a career 73% shooter from the line.

The other major sticking point has to be the continual fouling, as the Sun Devils committed 20 fouls during the course of the game.

Forward Heloisa Carrera was the only player that was in true immediate danger of fouling out, but the Sun Devil defense will not get away with pointed lapses against Big 12 competition like they have in the first two games.

Miller Building Momentum

It's already apparent that Miller is building something special in Tempe.

The 39-year old head coach is on the precipice of securing a 300th career victory now, and has the Sun Devils looking like a completely different team than was seen for much of the decade prior to this season.

The team is balanced, has several scoring options that should be considered reliable, and has size to match-up with the best of the Big 12. They are also disruptive defensively, obviously connected on both sides of the ball, and are as talented as any Arizona State roster since the last tournament team from the 2018-19 season.

Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and three major takeaways following a gutsy win over Iowa State here

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