Despite a difficult start, the Sun Devils stormed back to win 56-53.

UNLV (2-3) recorded four turnovers in the first quarter and shot three of 16, but it was the second quarter where the Sun Devils (5-0) shone.

At halftime, junior McKinna Brackens had 12 points to lead the team. The Sun Devils went on a 9-4 run to end the half up 28-24.

In the second half, UNLV had its own turnover woes, recording a couple, which led to a big ASU lead thanks to those points off turnovers.

However, both teams had a little trick up their sleeve: the three-pointers. UNLV made two crucial shots to put the game within an arm's reach of each other, and it stayed that way to the end.

UNLV did not make it to the free-throw line until the fourth quarter, when Shelbee Brown was fouled with less than a minute to go. 

She had the chance to put the Lady Rebels up by two, but she missed both, giving ASU a chance to win the game. 

They took advantage, running the shot clock all the way down to the last possible second to get a clean shot off.

Senior guard Marley Washenitz sent the crowd at Desert Financial Arena into a frenzy of amazement with her game-winning three-pointer for that 56-53 win.

“I knew the clock was ticking down,” Washenitz said. “I was like ‘somebody had to do something,’ so I just grabbed the ball and just threw it up.”

Washenitz said this is something that just puts people in amazement.

“I was in disbelief,” Washenitz said. “You could tell from my reaction, but honestly, I couldn't have cared less or more who would have scored that last 3, 2 points, as long as we got on the board and put ourselves in a position to win the game, that's all that I really cared about.”

Head coach Molly Miller said even though Washenitz didn’t have the best game shooting, she still values the importance of players like her.

“She didn't fill up this box score, but she played 40 minutes for us, and she kept at it,” Miller said. “That's her every single day. So that's like good juju for her, because she puts it out into the universe every single day that she is a fighter.”

Washenitz added that while the buzzer-beater was stellar, she wanted to get the win for Brackens more so.

This was a revenge game for Brackens, who transferred from UNLV to ASU. She ended the day 10-17 from the field, going 3-5 behind the arc for 23 points while also getting 10 rebounds to help her achieve her seventh straight double-double. She said getting to beat her former team is always a thrill.

“It was exciting,” Brackens said. “I mean, nobody wants to lose their old team, obviously, but it was exciting to see my old friends who were on that team. Obviously, I wanted to play well, but ultimately, I just wanted to win no matter how we got that.”

Miller said while being 5-0 on the season is a fantastic start, there is more the team can work on to be an even more menacing force.

“We're 63% from the field,” Miller said. “I think it shows what we're capable of. We can't have spurts of that. We have to have a whole quarter of that, two quarters of that, a whole half, a whole game of that.”

ASU’s start is the best start since the 2022-23 season, when the program also won its first five games, before finishing 8-22.

“It's an imperfect game, for sure, but we've got to cut down on some silly mistakes, and then sometimes just play basketball,” Miller said. “Again, we're moulding a team together for chemistry, but that was a fun one today.”