(Tempe, AZ) The Sun Devil women’s basketball team (17-2, 4-2 Big 12) remained perfect at home (11-0) following a 67-51 win over Kansas (11-8, 1-6) on Saturday.
At the end of the day, ASU was among a group of four teams – Utah (5-2), Oklahoma State (4-2), West Virginia (4-2) – with two losses in conference play. The quartet trails No. 10 TCU, No. 17 Texas Tech and No. 18 Baylor, all currently tied for first place at 6-1.
Sun Devil standouts
Heloisa Carrera set new career highs for points (22) and free throws made (10) and attempted (12). Carrera made 86 percent of her field goals (6-7) and 83 percent (10-12) of her free throws and led the team with a game-high seven rebounds. Five of Carerra’s double-figure scoring games have come in her last eight games.
Gabby Elliott scored 20 points vs. Kansas, her 17th time in 19 games scoring in double figures this season. She had her sixth 20-point game of the season on Saturday.
Deborah Davenport had a season/career-high nine points. Davenport hit all four of her shots and also had four rebounds.
Marley Washenitz did a little bit of everything on Saturday. Her afternoon included four points, five rebounds, a game-high four steals and a season-high three blocks.
How it happened
For the second straight game, both ASU and its opponent got off to a slow start offensively. After TCU edged the Sun Devils 14-13 in Sunday’s opening stanza, on Saturday ASU and Kansas were knotted at 13-13 after 10 minutes.
ASU scored its first six points via the foul line. The Sun Devils did not officially take their first shot of the game – a make by Amaya Williams – until nearly four minutes into the game. Williams’ basket gave ASU an 8-7 lead.
ASU’s offense came to life in the second quarter, outscoring Kansas 27-16. After shooting only 27 percent (3-11 FGs) in the first quarter, the Sun Devils successfully deposited 77 percent (10-13 FGs) of their attempts in the second quarter. Elliott (3-4 FGs), Carrera (3-3 FGs) and Deborah Davenport (3-3 FGs) combined to shoot 90 percent (9-10) in the second quarter. Williams’ buzzer-beater sent the Sun Devils to the locker room with a 40-29 lead.
Kansas got as close as nine points twice in the third quarter. The Jayhawks never got back within single digits after Carrera hit two free throws to give ASU a 44-33 lead with 7:58 remaining in the third quarter.
Notes
ASU’s 27 points in the second quarter tied its second-highest point total in a quarter this season. The Sun Devils also scored 27 points in the fourth quarter of their season opening win over Coppin State. ASU’s highest point total in a quarter this season is 29 (scored in the third quarter of win over SEMO on Nov. 29).
The 22 points Kansas scored in the second half represented the fewest points scored by an ASU opponent in the second half this season.
ASU has attempted 20 or more free throws in five of its six Big 12 games. It has made 79 percent (93-118) of its free throws in its four wins.
Kansas had 24 turnovers on Saturday. It was the 10th time this season ASU has forced 20 or more turnovers in a game. That includes a trio of games forcing 30-plus turnovers: 33 vs. Coppin St. (Nov. 3), 31 vs. San Francisco (Dec. 6) and a season-high 36 at Penn St. (Dec. 9).
Head coach Molly Miller has now won her last 34 home games going back to the 2023-24 season when she was the head coach at GCU.
In its 11 home games (all wins), ASU has outscored the opposition by an average of 69.0-51.4 (+17.6 scoring margin). Only one visiting team (Colorado – 63) has scored more than 60 points.
Up next
The Sun Devils are back on the road for games at West Virginia (Wednesday at 7 p.m. EST/5 p.m. MST) and at Cincinnati on Saturday (2 p.m. EST/12 p.m. MST).
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Steve Rodriguez
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