Molly Miller Discusses Arizona State's Pursuit of Reaching NCAA Tournament
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TEMPE -- The Arizona State women's basketball program has faced several down years since their last NCAA tournament appearance in 2019 under legendary former head coach Charli Turner Thorne.
The transition to the Big 12 last season did not go as smoothly as expected either -they went 3-15 in their debut campaign in the league.
A change was necessary after three seasons of Natasha Adair being an admirable representative of the program - Molly Miller entered after a 30-win season as head coach of the Grand Canyon program.
Miller - who has collected nearly 300 wins in 10 years as a head coach at two programs - has a defined presence, coaching style, and approach of building a program that is sustainable in nearly every way imaginable. The newfound tenacity, willingness to push the pace offensively, and general buy-in from the roster is conspicuous - Miller is at the forefront of the current revolution.
The head coach spoke with media following Thursday's practice and was very open when asked about the process behind working towards making it to the tournament for the first time this decade.
"I don't want to sound cliche, but I might. It's just the daily process. It is so important, daily wins will stack up, and then all of a sudden, the byproduct is going to be winning, the byproduct is going to be turning appearances. The byproduct is knocking off teams in the tournament. So it's just the culture initially, and then progress throughout the year."
The two leading scorers from last season's squad in Jalyn Brown and Tyi Skinner opted to transfer after last season - Brown to Michigan State, Skinner to SMU. The losses certainly have the potential to impact the scoring ceiling of the 2025-26 squad - although Miller secured a commitment from senior Gabby Elliott, who shot over 42% from three-point range last season, averaging 13.6 PPG in the process as well.
Senior Acacia Hayes has scored over 1,000 career points in three seasons at Western Kentucky, while junor forward McKinna Brackens has been discussed as a potential breakout player in the Big 12 conference this season.
The moral of the story? Don't underestimate coach Miller, the roster she is building up (although it is still a work-in-progress), and certainly don't count out this team when it comes to winning games this season.
Sun Devil women's basketball is set to tip the season off on November 3 - when the team welcomes Coppin State to Desert Financial Arena.
Read more about Arizona State basketball coach Bobby Hurley speaking directly to fans ahead of the start of the 2025 season here, and on three major takeaways from the 42-10 loss to Utah here.
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.