TEMPE, Ariz. – After a lackluster first quarter, Arizona State women’s basketball came out in the second looking like a completely different team. Multiple tough finishes, drilled baskets and a trademark defense catapulted the record-making group to a comfortable win.

In the second quarter alone, Arizona State outscored the McNeese Cowgirls 21-7 and went six minutes without allowing a basket.

“I thought when we got Poa in there the second time, we told her to push the pace and let the guards run, we were able to have better transition offense moments,” head coach Molly Miller said about the shift from the first to the second quarter. “We just didn’t have those in the first quarter. I thought we did a much better job in the second quarter.”

Arizona State (9-0) tallied its ninth win Friday, Dec. 5, tying a record set by the 1991-92 team for best start in program history. The Sun Devils used their suffocating defense and steady waves of tough finishes to defeat McNeese 57-47 at Mullett Arena.

The Cowgirls opened the game riding a two-game win streak and forced ASU into multiple bad possessions and eight turnovers in the frame. The Cowgirls’ leading scorer, graduate guard Arianna Patton, hit the only 3-pointer of the quarter.

McNeese later mounted a promising fourth-quarter comeback with several tough baskets from Patton and a pair of threes from senior guard Allasia Washington, shirking the ASU lead to five after starting the final frame up 14.

“They’re scrappy, they come with doubles and they fight and get around,” Miller said. “That was a good defensive clinic, I thought, by McNeese.”

The Sun Devils shut down the comeback by controlling the glass and holding McNeese to five second-chance points in the last 10 minutes.

Junior forward McKinna Brackens led the charge on the boards, setting a career high with 15 rebounds. The UNLV transfer now has four games with double-digit rebounds and four double-doubles.

Brackens said she credits her teammates for playing the best basketball of her career.

“We work on it (rebounding) in practice every single day,” Brackens said. “It’s become important to the entire team, not just me. I feel like a lot of us rebound, and we knew it was going to be a scrappy night.”

Players said Miller emphasized rebounding all week in practice. The first-year ASU coach praised the grit and toughness of her frontcourt, especially Brackens.

Miller said she gave Brackens a pep talk during pregame introductions.

“I told McKinna, ‘I want you to play hard, especially on the glass,’” Miller said. “I’m glad she took that to heart.”

On a night where several Sun Devils delivered strong performances on the scoresheet, none proved more important than graduate guard Gabby Elliott’s 19 points.

ASU’s leading scorer this season couldn’t be denied, especially from the midrange. Elliott has reached double figures in every game this season except one – last weekend against Southeast Missouri State.

The experienced guard credited her teammates and coaches for her production.

“Without them, I can’t really do much,” Elliott said. “The coaches call the plays, and I’m really just there. Without them, I truly don’t go. As long as they have the confidence to get me the ball, I definitely have to have the confidence to shoot it.”

The Sun Devils face a quick turnaround before facing San Francisco at Mullett Arena on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. A win tomorrow solidifies a 10-0 start and the best in program history. 

“We’re not a team that’s trying to wait and build something,” Elliott said. “We’re trying to make something happen right now in Tempe, and I feel like we’re doing that right now.”