Arizona State Escapes Rival, Advances in Big 12 Tournament

The Sun Devils secured win number 23 on the season on Wednesday.

Arizona State women's basketball coach Molly Miller instructs her team against Texas Tech in a Big 12 game Sunday, March 1, 2026, at United Supermarkets Arena. | Stephen Garcia/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The NCAA tournament hopes for the 2025-26 Arizona State Sun Devils lives on for another day.

Molly Miller's team moved to 23-9 on the season after a hard-fought 54-51 win over the Arizona Wildcats to finish off a 3-0 sweep of their rival - all three victories came by single digits in the process.

Arizona State and Arizona played relatively even for a vast majority of the game - a floater by Last-Tear Poa with just under two minutes remaining in the game was the last scoring in the contest and proved to be enough to gift ASU a one-possession triumph.

ASU Sun Devils guard Marley Washenitz (11) looks to pass the ball against the Kansas State Wildcats at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Feb. 1, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It wasn't a victory that was filled with style points, but one of the "first four out" of the tournament field as of Wednesday according to ESPN's Charlie Creme began their pursuit of climbing back onto the right side of the bubble with the win.

Arizona State Big Served as Difference in Game

The Sun Devils put together another - for lack of better term - lousy showing offensively, which is something that has unfortunately been a pattern as of late. The Sun Devils have failed to clear 65 points in four of their last five games, with Wednesday night being especially frustrating.

Arizona State turned the ball over 20 times (including 6 by Gabby Elliott), shot 2-12 from three-point range, and left six points on the board at the free-throw line.

Sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera proved to be the ultimate difference between win and loss in this contest.

ASU Sun Devils forward Heloisa Carrera (14) shoots the ball against the Kansas State Wildcats at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Feb. 1, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carrera, a transfer from Ole Miss, was the lone Sun Devil that scored in the double figures range (16 points), ultimately continuing to be a third player that has complimented Elliott and McKinna Brackens on a relatively frequent basis.

Arizona State will need Carrera to continue the strong play to take down Thursday's opponent.

Iowa State Poses Major Challenge

Arizona State is set to take on Iowa State at the same time on Thursday (4:30 P.M. MST) as in the round one game. The Cyclones took down Arizona State by 26 points (90-64) on February 18, with Iowa State's Audi Crooks proving to be an incredible uphill climb for the ASU defense to contain.

Arizona State has two advantages heading into the game - the fact that the team is carrying day-to-day momentum into Thursday, and the fact that this game will be on a neutral court. Both teams need wins to boost their tournament profile - it's setting up to be the most compelling matchup in Kansas City on Thursday.

Read more on the bold strategy that head coach Bobby Hurley employed with comments on 1/21 here, and on why Arizona State may have saved the season with the win over Cincinnati on Saturday here..

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