TEMPE – As the roars of ‘defense’ and ‘BYU’ emerged from the visiting BYU fans in a packed Desert Financial Arena midway through the third quarter, a clearly distraught Arizona State coach, Molly Miller, simply shook her head. Seated across from her on the other side of the floor, the Sun Devil student section mirrored Miller, putting their hands on their heads in disbelief at what just unfolded on the bright hardwood floor in front of them.
Despite a late comeback push to cut the deficit to three with under two minutes to play, bad shot selection, capped off by a step-back 3-pointer from senior guard Marley Washenitz and a contested three from senior guard Gabby Elliott, sealed their fate: a devastating second-half collapse.
The Sun Devils (22-8, 9-8 Big 12) fell to the BYU Cougars (19-10, 8-9 Big 12) 66-61 in their home finale and penultimate game of the season in Desert Financial Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
“It was a tale of two halves,” Miller said. “I thought we were the tougher, more aggressive team in the first and then they were the tougher, more aggressive, and put us on our heels in that second half and third quarter.”
ASU’s defense came out in typical Miller fashion, creating stops and creating havoc.
The Sun Devils established that brand of basketball in the first half, where the 18 total points allowed was the second-lowest mark allowed in a half all season, trailing only the Little Rock game on Nov. 28, where they surrendered just 14 in a half.
ASU’s suffocating defense seemed to forge the path to victory in the first half, forcing 12 turnovers to its six.
Just when everything seemed to be going right for the squad donning the maroon and gold, everything went awry, with players becoming frustrated and losing focus to start the third quarter.
After holding the Cougars to 1-for-9 from three, the Sun Devils’ defense struggled with late rotations, leading to open makes. The Cougars made three after three after three, en route to a 5-for-9 clip from beyond the arc in the quarter. The Sun Devils’ 28 third-quarter points allowed were the most given up in a quarter all season.
What a turnaround by BYU: down 13 at the half, the Cougars have roared their way back to lead 46-42 at the end of the third.
— Jake Iovine (@jake11_io) February 26, 2026
15-4 BYU run in last five minutes. The visiting fans are loving it.@InfernoIntel pic.twitter.com/BqYdhlPHhe
“We just had a bad third quarter,” junior forward McKinna Brackens said. “I feel like that just carried into the fourth. In the third, we got comfortable with our lead, and we knew they were going to come out swinging and we never swung back.”
Offensively, BYU swarmed ASU guards, trapping the ball on the perimeter in a matchup zone, effectively removing ASU’s mid-range offense while forcing eight turnovers to its one.
The Sun Devils’ defense held the Cougars to under 27% from the field and under 12% from the 3-point line in the first half. In the second half, the defensive prowess was gone. BYU capitalized on late rotations en route to shooting a 45% clip from the field, 33.3% from downtown and went 15-for-17 from the free throw line.
When your team can only score 61 points but gives up over 65, it is hard to win basketball games, especially in the Big 12. In ASU’s eight losses, five of them saw its defense allow 65 or more points.
Though ASU’s Senior Night was spoiled, an attendance record was broken, as over 6,750 people showed up at Desert Financial Arena on Wednesday Night.
6,755 is the attendance tonight.@InfernoIntel pic.twitter.com/Zvk7ktKgev
— Jake Iovine (@jake11_io) February 26, 2026
Miller thanked the fans before offering her thoughts on her team and especially her seniors.
“Legacy is not defined by how long you are at a place,” Miller said. “It is defined on the impact you have while you are there, and they (this team) have made an impact on my heart, on my family, on this start at Arizona State and you remember that forever … I will remember this first group, especially the seniors that took a blind leap of faith and decided to do this thing together.”
Coach Miller and company will have a chance to build on an already strong season and strong road resume when they head to Lubbock, TX, to face No. 20 Texas Tech on Sunday, March 1, at 1:00 p.m. MST. Miller will look to do what ASU Men’s basketball did and upset the Red Raiders in a game that has big implications for March Madness.
“I would say this team is a march team,” Miller said. “The players we have, the style we have and the wins we have had in both the conference and non-conference.”
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