TEMPE, Ariz. – With all of the hype in the build-up to the women’s basketball Territorial Cup tilt in Tempe, Arizona State coach Molly Miller could not even imagine the type of atmosphere that was inside Desert Financial Arena.
The Duel in the Desert brought a record 6,121 attendance, the highest ever for a women’s basketball game between ASU (18-4, 5-4 Big 12) and the University of Arizona (10-10, 1-8 Big 12), played at DFA, with the Sun Devils reigning supreme over their in-state rivals 68-61. Miller said that she wanted to give all of the Sun Devil fans in attendance a fist bump and a hug to show what the support means to her.
“There’s so many people behind the scenes that I wish I could spout out all their names, but that’d be a list of 100 plus,” said Miller. “Everyone’s bought into this, and to me, that’s a very humbling moment, a very proud moment and a very exciting moment that we can build on.”
Miller added that she had talks with many alumni in the days leading up to the game to try and get a sense of what the game truly means to the fans, players and coaches.
“We’ve had Jerry, a fan, who came to his first women’s basketball game this year but has been coming to Sun Devil athletic events for 65 years,” said Miller. “This means something, and it means something to that locker room, and it means something to our coaches. We’ve got everyone bought in, and the staff is so connected and amazing in terms of the energy poured into these kids.”
Graduate guard Gabby Elliott compared the Territorial Cup to other rivalries she has been a part of during her six-year collegiate career and said that she has never heard more fans talk about a rivalry game than the fans of this rivalry have.
“You don’t even say their name here,” said Elliott. “They’re the team down south, and that is something that I have never been a part of. It’s a true rivalry, and it’s bigger than just basketball. This has definitely been the best rivalry game I’ve been a part of for sure.”
The Sun Devils came out of the halftime locker room with a seven-point advantage over their rivals, but that lead quickly vanished as the Wildcats found themselves on a 15-2 run to begin the second half. Miller said the game was always going to be about momentum and was happy with the way her team battled through adversity.
“We could have easily crumbled,” Miller said. “But in that timeout, they regrouped…came out and swung right back.”
Elliott led all scorers with 22 points, but it was her defensive effort late that iced the game for ASU. The sixth-year star got a steal, forced a turnover, and drew a foul to send her to the free-throw line with 40 seconds left in the game.
“I wanted the ball because I went for it, but to actually end up with it and get the foul, I kind of knew that the game was secure,” Elliott said. “I knew (if) I can just make a couple of free throws, we can breathe a little bit more, and I can put my team in a good position to win.”
After Elliott got the steal on the sideline and got fouled, she was on the ground. Her teammates on the court, including freshman guard Amaya Williams, came over and began hyping the veteran up for making what ended up being the decisive play.
“Team chemistry means everything,” Williams said. “I feel like the more you’re together, the more you have a chance to pull out the win, and that hyped me up to the maximum because we needed that stop, and she got it for us.”
Elliott said that the team knew in preparation for this game that the level of physicality would be turned up a notch, but this wasn’t anything new for her and her teammates.
“Arizona is a tough team. They play tough defense, and that’s who they are. We knew they were going to play 10 times harder against us because of what this game meant, so we were definitely prepared and ready for it,” Elliott said. “Nothing new, just heightened for sure.”
ASU is undefeated at home — 12-0 — so far this season, with its win over Arizona being the latest installment to that record. Miller pointed out a stat that her team has only played four times at home within the last 57 days leading up to the game against the Wildcats.
“It's big time when you can get back home and get into a routine and play in front of your fans,” Miller said. “We love the home court, and to have these three home games in a row, it’s huge for us.”
Miller said that this type of rivalry game is why she coaches at this level. She explained that sports in general have highs and lows, but this game in particular had extreme highs and lows, and she was happy that her team was the one that came out on top in the end.
“If you don’t like that, you don’t like Sun Devil basketball,” Miller said.