TEMPE — Arizona State graduate guard Gabby Elliott played in many collegiate games before transferring to ASU this season. But nothing could have prepared her for a rivalry game against Arizona.
“I’ve never heard as many people talk about it as much,” Elliott said following ASU’s 68-61 win over the Wildcats on Wednesday. “I went to Michigan State, of course, Michigan is a rival because I grew up there, but it’s not as big as it is here. You don’t even say their (Arizona) name here.”
The guard’s first Territorial Cup ended in an ASU victory as the Sun Devils edged out the Wildcats 68-61 at Desert Financial Arena. Elliott finished with 22 points and seven rebounds, leading the team in points for the 10th time this season.
Her strong performance came after Sparky’s last-gasp loss against Cincinnati last Saturday, where Elliott turned the ball over on the final possession to allow the Bearcats to score the game-winning layup.
This time, however, Elliott’s key defensive steal with less than a minute to go helped the Maroon and Gold close out a tight ending and secure the team’s 12th home win of the season.
“That’s a vet(eran) for you, and I’m really proud of Gabby,” ASU head coach Molly Miller said after the game on Elliott’s response. “We have these unspoken kind of eye connections, and I could tell she was ready for this game. You kind of have to flush that and have a short-term memory, although you have to learn from it also, and she did.
“That was an upset kid in the locker room, and you felt for her. It didn’t have to come down to that one play, and that’s what we kept telling her. But for her to bounce back and have this intensity, it was nice to see.”
After leading 33-26 at halftime, Arizona came roaring back as the Wildcats raced to a 15-2 run to start the quarter. To make things worse for the Sun Devils, Elliott took a hard hit and needed to be substituted out less than a minute into the half.
Both teams traded leads in the third quarter and entered the final 10 minutes separated by a point. Elliott scored eight in the fourth quarter–the most on ASU–as the Sun Devils regained the lead with seven minutes to go.
But Elliott’s biggest play came with 44 seconds remaining. With the Maroon and Gold leading by three and Arizona having the inbound pass, the guard stripped the ball from sophomore guard Kamryn Kitchen and drew a foul. Two made free throws later put ASU into a five-point advantage, and the team never looked back.
“To actually end up with it (the ball) and get the foul, I kind of knew, ‘OK, game is secure, I can make a couple free throws, we can breathe a little bit more,” Elliott said on the play. “That’s definitely what I was thinking, just to put my team in a good position to actually kind of just ‘woosah’.”
Four of ASU’s next five games will be played in Tempe, a place where Miller’s squad is yet to lose this season. The team begins that stretch of games on Sunday against Kansas State at 2 p.m. MST.
Afterward, the Sun Devils travel to Tucson for a rematch against the Wildcats on Feb. 14. It’s a game in which Elliott hopes to have an even better night, this time in a hostile environment.
“Hopefully they bring a little bit more (fans) because they’re gonna need it,” she said.
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