Up high, down low, too slow: ASU women’s hoops opens season in dominating fashion
By Ian King ·
Up high, down low, too slow: ASU women’s hoops opens season in dominating fashion
by Ian King, Cronkite News
November 3, 2026
TEMPE – Monday night brought with it no shortage of question marks about the Arizona State women’s basketball team in its season opener against Jackson State. With just four returning players, all eyes were on both ASU’s premier group of transfer-portal additions and its class of high school recruits which are being counted on to fuel the momentum built in the program by coach Molly Miller during her first season in 2025-26.
Despite the uncertainty, the Sun Devils won 84-41.
In the opening minutes, self-inflicted wounds caused ASU to fall to an early 11-2 deficit but no panic ensued. The usually animated Miller even took an early seat for a couple of possessions, before heroes swooped in to turn the game for the Sun Devils.
“We know it’s going to be a little bit tight, first time in front of a crowd,” Miller said. “The nerves were there. We needed to over-communicate in that first quarter, and I think that’s where our lapse was. But (I’m) really proud that they never tucked their tails.”
The returners, all familiar with Miller’s system, gave the Sun Devils offensive life after they trailed early – notably forwards Heliosa Carrera and McKinna Brackens.
"Our main thing in games is to dominate in the paint,” Carrera said. “Me and McKinna being able to do that is going to help the team. Just being able to work in and outside of the 3-point line, it's great for our team."
A 13-0 run ensued for Arizona State, which quickly reclaimed the lead, and the Sun Devils never took their feet off the gas. The entire first quarter came and went with the two forwards scoring ASU’s only points.
Carrera led the way with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. She ended the night with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Brackens added 14 points and eight boards.
"I think Brackens is someone that they're going to focus on,” Miller said. “Circle, highlight, star and scout. But now you got to worry about all our guards."
When the lead became sizable, Miller leaned on the depth of her roster, including some of the newcomers, to continue the dominance.
The approach was evident in the performance of freshman guard Averie Lower, who finished with 15 points and made five 3-pointers in her collegiate debut. Despite missing her first four attempts from beyond the arc, Lower never hesitated to let another one fly and finished the game 5-for-12.
“I just had to have confidence in myself and trust that the next ones are going in because I can never doubt myself, or it’ll go downhill,” Lower said.
Miller said that mentality is exactly what the coaching staff wants from the freshman, emphasizing that shooters need to keep shooting regardless of how the previous attempt went.
“She missed the first three, I believe, but she's got that shooter's next-shot mentality,” Miller said. “I don't care how many (you) miss in a row. If it's three in a row, I think the fourth's going in.”
Miller's squad also finished with 51 rebounds, including 20 offensive boards, and recorded 26 assists on 12 turnovers allowed. The largest lead of the night was an astounding 47 points.
Miller emphasized the importance of aggression when discussing the Sun Devils’ defensive identity.
“Every 50-50 ball is 100% ours,” Miller said. “If there's a ball bouncing on the ground, we're going to go get it and we're going to come up with it.”
For Carrera, the opening performance offered a glimpse of what the group can accomplish as its chemistry continues to develop.
“Everyone improved a lot,” Carrera said. “Seeing that we can do amazing things together when we execute, when we play defense, when we get stops, it's something that's going to be really good for the season.”
With a new-look roster beginning to settle into Miller’s system, ASU’s season opener provided an early indication that its offensive and defensive identities will be more team-oriented than ever.
Up next, the Sun Devils host Northern Arizona University on Salute to Service night at 6:30 p.m. MST Thursday.
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Originally published by Cronkite News Sports