TEMPE — Over the past three years, empty seats, crushing defeats and losing streaks have headlined a struggling Arizona State women’s basketball program.
After three straight losing seasons, the Sun Devils opted to move on from coach Natasha Adair and bring in a fresh face to steer the program back to relevance: Molly Miller.
Following a season in which she led Grand Canyon University to a 32-3 mark and an NCAA tournament appearance, Miller garnered interest from multiple schools across the country. However, throughout the hiring process, she had her sights set on ASU, hoping to reignite a program that, under former coach Charli Turner Thorne, had found postseason success in the past.
“At some point I felt like we were getting pursued (by Miller) as much as we were pursuing her,” Athletic Director Graham Rossini said after Miller’s introductory press conference.
With Miller at the helm and a retooled roster filled with experience, the Sun Devils look to establish a new culture and find more success in their second year in the Big 12.
Contributing writers: Adam Kunin, Ashton Sharinn and Jake Iolvine
This offseason, Miller placed an emphasis on bringing in veteran guards from the transfer portal. What can we expect from this experienced group of backcourt players?
Miller aimed to bring in energetic players with experience, high-motor and defensive expertise in the backcourt through the portal.
One of the bigger Miller additions is the LSU transfer, fifth-year guard Last-Tear Poa. Under coach Kim Mulkey’s guidance, Poa emerged as a top-end defender and started over 25 games and played in over 100 games for the Tigers.
The veteran presence will look to help some of the younger players integrate into Miller’s defensive system.
“I mean, just showing them discipline,” Poa said. “It comes from working every day, being the first one here and last to leave.
“Coach is very heavy on defense, so I think just bringing my energy, bringing my experience to the program is good.”
Penn State fifth-year transfer guard Gabby Elliott will provide much-needed scoring. Elliott averaged 13.6 points per game, 1.3 steals and just over 4.5 rebounds a game in a dominant Big Ten conference, shooting over 47% from the field and over 42% from the arc last year.
Elliott, who has played for three previous teams in some of the toughest conferences, will look to keep the squad steady throughout the length of the season.
“You really just take it game by game,” Elliott said. “Everybody is trying to fight for something and leave with something … We want to do something special and leave (here) better than they found it. It is honestly the perfect mix too, play with your teammates and get to leave with them too.”
Pittsburgh transfer senior guard Marley Washenitz looks to be the third piece of the Sun Devils’ three-headed monster of guards. She started in every game but one for the Panthers over the past two seasons.
She pieced together her best season in the Navy and Gold last year, starting every game and setting career highs in points, average field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and steals.
With only one year of eligibility remaining, Washenitz, who spent her entire life on the East Coast entire college career at Pittsburgh decided to take a leap of faith in transferring across the country to ASU. So far, Washenitz believes her decision has paid off.
“This is exactly all I have asked for and imagined,” Washenitz said. “My teammates have been great. We have only been together for maybe about five, six months and we have all clicked from the jump. I could not be happier to have these girls around me every day. They push me to be a better person as well as a better player.”
The Maroon and Gold have one freshman in the backcourt, guard Amaya Williams, who could emerge as a key piece off the bench for Miller this season. Williams is used to winning and facing tough competition, as evident by her time at Mater Dei High School, where she led her team to a 29-4 record as a captain last season and to over 80 wins throughout her high school career.
Additionally, ASU returns two players in the backcourt in senior guard Makayla Moore, who transferred to Arizona State from Seattle University last season, and junior guard Jyah LoVett, who transferred in last season from San Jose State.
With transfers from all across the country, an almost entirely new backcourt will take the floor for Sparky this season. And, while Miller’s system is tough, she’ll look to lean on her experienced group of guards.
– Ashton Sharinn
Meanwhile, in the frontcourt, ASU welcomes a mix of experience and underclassmen. What can we expect from this group this season?
ASU’s roster overhaul continues into the frontcourt, as it welcomes a plethora of newcomers in Miller’s first season in Tempe.
Of the five frontcourt players, only one of them – redshirt freshman center Timya Grice – is a returner. However, the Texas native missed the entirety of last season due to injury, meaning the entire frontcourt will be making their debuts in the Maroon and Gold this year.
Miller has a mixed bag of underclassmen and upperclassmen at her disposal.
Two newcomers have origins overseas: Freshman center Martina Fantini is set to begin life in the United States, coming from Italy. Sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera, originally from Brazil, joins after spending one year at Ole Miss and playing high school basketball at IMG Academy.
Fantini played three seasons professionally in Italy and represented her country at the international U20 level. In August, Fantini played in all seven games of Italy’s run to the bronze medal of the FIBA U20 Women’s Basketball, averaging seven points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Now in Tempe, she is motivated to play under Miller in her first year at Desert Financial Arena.
“I really like coach Molly’s energy and culture,” Fantini said. “I really liked her as a person, too, and all of the coaching staff. I was a little scared of coming all the way far from home, but I really find a home away from home because everyone is really supportive. This is for sure a winning program.”
Carrera made 13 appearances for Ole Miss in the 2024-25 season. The Brazilian sophomore played at the FIBA Women’s Basketball U19 World Cup for Brazil two years ago, and similar to Fantini, she says Miller’s presence will make the Sun Devils a united team.
“The culture is something that (Miller) wants to bring here, a winning culture, and also a family,” Carrera said.
The two internationals are joined by veteran junior forwards Deborah Davenport and McKinna Brackens, both of whom joined from the transfer portal. Brackens started all 34 games last year for UNLV, logging 333 points and 195 rebounds while finishing third on the team in blocks.
Davenport also looks to carry over the success she had at Northwest Florida, where she won two consecutive NJCAA National Championships and averaged a career-high 9.3 points per game as a sophomore.
With all the new editions and a revamped squad, Miller doesn’t want to label anyone experienced nor inexperienced, but rather as a team growing together.
“Everyone’s new. Everyone’s a freshman in the system,” Miller said. “They’ve got to get good, quality minutes and reps in to be able to replicate what we want the product to eventually be.”
– Jake Iovine
With an almost completely new roster and coaching staff, how will Miller look to establish a strong culture in her first year in Tempe?
It only takes a few minutes of watching Molly Miller’s practice to see what the identity of her team will be. Players leap to dive for loose balls on the floor, stand in to take charges and pester ball handlers with relentless on-ball defense.
It’s a style of play that’s tough, scrappy, unselfish and rooted on the defensive end of the floor.
“We’re going to dive on the floor,” Miller said. “First to ball is something I say, so (if) there’s a loose ball – a 50-50 ball – it’s 100% ours. There’s going to be a team first approach, so we’re going to share the ball. … It’s the ‘we before me’ mentality.”
On the sideline, an animated Miller brings a contagious passion to her coaching, clapping and running out onto the court to show her approval for hustle plays. It’s still early in her program rebuild, but the elements of the culture she hopes to build have begun to bud.
“Her energy has been infectious,” Washenitz said. “You can tell that when you come to her practices. You can see smiles on our faces. … She’s really big on relationships and knowing us as people and understanding how certain people are motivated.”
With Miller, there’s no compromise when it comes to commitment and unselfishness. The offense doesn’t have an established No. 1 option on offense and Miller’s system can be taxing on players who aren’t use to playing in it.
While she understands that it’s an adjustment to many, the 12th-year coach demands that her players match her intensity on the floor.
“This is the way it’s going to be done and we’ll win with you or win without you,” Miller said. “I hope you’re going to win with us because there’s a standard. … I’m not going to compromise on energy and effort. I shouldn’t have to have to coach that. Not in this program. I’m not going to compromise on your body language and your attitude. That’s going to be a given.”
In the new age of college basketball, where the transfer portal allows teams to bring in talent from all corners of the country, it’s easier to quickly turn around a program. While the Sun Devils were picked to finish 11th in the Big 12’s Preseason Media Poll, Miller’s confident that the experience of her squad can give them a leg up as they try to set a new standard at Arizona State.
“When you’re getting portal kids, you can get kids on your team that have an instant impact because they’re proven college player,” Miller said. “We know that we can go watch game film … so you’re not really guessing. Some freshmen will pan out and some won’t, but with a proven college player from the portal, you pretty much know what you’re going to get.”
ASU will tip off its season on Monday, Nov. 3, at 6:30 p.m. when it welcomes Coppin State to Desert Financial Arena, as the squad looks for its first win in the Molly Miller era.
– Adam Kunin
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