TEMPE — It’d been a quiet night for Arizona State sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera entering the third quarter of the Sun Devils’ Sunday evening contest at home against Colorado. She had only recorded two points in the first half, as the Buffaloes trailed by one possession.
But after receiving words of encouragement from head coach Molly Miller, everything changed.
“I really challenged her,” Miller said of Carrera. “She had been fading, then she missed that bunny. And I’m like, ‘You can’t feel sorry for yourself because I know they don’t feel sorry for you, but we’re going to go back at you, and I want you to basically go through their nose and score.'”
The result?
Carrera scored 12 points in the second half, becoming one of four Sun Devils to reach double-digit points on the night as ASU (14-0 overall, 1-0 Big 12) rolled to a 79-63 win over Colorado (9-4 overall, 0-1 Big 12) in its Big 12 opener.
Junior forward McKinna Brackens led ASU in points (18) while tallying five rebounds. Graduate guard Gabby Elliott and senior guard Marley Washenitz also contributed with double-digit points in the scoring column.
The Maroon and Gold are now one win shy of equaling their longest winning streak in program history (15), set during the 2015-16 campaign.
The game couldn’t have started better for Miller’s squad. After just five minutes, the Sun Devils led 15-2 while going six for six from the field. Defensively, ASU dominated the opening quarter, forcing eight turnovers from Colorado while collecting five defensive rebounds.
The Maroon and Gold finished the quarter with a 26-15 lead, with Elliott and Washenitz scoring a combined 17 points.
Despite leading as many as 16 after the first 10 minutes, the Sun Devils’ offense slowed as Colorado cut into the deficit. ASU went 4-for-11 from the field while the Buffaloes scored eight unanswered points to trail by single digits, going into halftime down 39-31.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Elliott said. “When you get rattled by a run, this isn’t the game for you. And we’re not really worried about that because we know what type of team we are. We know how to weather storms, (we’ve) been doing it all offseason just to prepare us for this.”
The visitors continued to chip away at ASU’s lead following the break. They eventually made it a one-possession game midway through the third quarter after junior guard Desiree Wooten drilled a long-range 3-pointer.
But Carerra responded by making three straight buckets of her own to restore ASU’s eight-point advantage. Sparky continued to stay in front as Miller’s side entered the final quarter up 56-49.
Colorado once again came within two points of tying the game, yet the Sun Devils didn’t flinch: they went on a 12-2 run in less than four minutes to regain a double-digit lead. Miller’s squad held the Buffaloes to without a field goal during the run, which saw Carrera, Elliott, junior guard Jyah LoVett and freshman guard Amaya Williams all chip in for points.
ASU’s late rally continued as it finished with a 16-point lead and a 79-63 victory.
Despite remaining undefeated and receiving a vote in last week’s top 25 poll, Miller doesn’t want to get too far ahead of herself in regard to rankings as conference play begins.
“It would be a testament to where we’ve been, where we’ve come from, what we’re doing, the body of work and that would be appreciative. But I don’t really buy into the rankings,” she said. “You have to play the next game in front of you. But these girls deserve that recognition, and they’ve shown it.”
ASU’s next game will be on New Year’s Eve in Salt Lake City against Utah at 2 p.m. MST.
Leave a Reply