“We had to sell the vision,” Miller said on the show. “I said, ‘trust me, we’re going to win,’ and they’ve bought in. I couldn’t imagine doing this first year with any other group.”

The blind leap of faith paid off for the all-transfer starting five, as it combined for 63 points in the Sun Devils’ (22-7, 9-7 Big 12) 81-56 win over the Houston Cougars (7-20, 1-15 Big 12) on Saturday, Feb. 21. ASU sophomore forward Heloisa Carrera, a transfer from Ole Miss, led the way for the Sun Devils with 23 points on an efficient 10-for-12 from the field.

“Shout out to Heloisa today. She checked in and did her job,” Miller said. “It was to show up and be a huge presence in the paint, and she did that today.”

Miller said that her team, at times, has fought with no mentality. She said that in the month of February, your role as a player is not going to change, but being better at your job assignment is what is going to help the team win games.

“I’m proud of them for not only accepting what their jobs and their roles are right now and embracing them, but knowing what other people’s jobs and roles are and setting them up,” Miller said. “We had 15 assists at half. We’re playing good team basketball right now, and we had that extra mentality edge and the energy edge that we needed to come out quick today.”

ASU senior guard Marley Washenitz started the game off hot, scoring 12 of her 14 points in the first quarter. Miller said that Washenitz did a good job playing her role in helping get the win.

“Here was Marley’s job description. It was don’t foul, be smart, aggressive, and then rise up and hit a shot with confidence,” Miller said. “She did both of those things today, and they’re really just leaning in and buying in. They’ve continued to do that all year, but now there’s a little extra lean in which I’m really proud of.”

Washenitz said her hot start came from trusting the work she has been putting in since the summer all the way up to now, and how her confidence is of huge importance to her success on the court.

“I had a mentorship program going on, and I was talking to this girl about building her confidence, and I just love being a part of something like that because it almost feels like I’m talking to my younger self,” Washenitz said. “I feel like that helped me in today’s game. I’ve just been very fortunate to be in an environment here at ASU with the staff and the teammates to uplift me on my down days.”

Coming off a 26-point loss to Iowa State in Ames on Wednesday, Feb. 18, Washenitz said that getting back on track with a 25-point win of their own showed how the Sun Devils can be dangerous when clicking on all cylinders.

“This game, yes, we want to win, but it’s also bigger than just this game,” Washenitz said. “We’re playing with a chip on our shoulder, and we’re playing with the confidence that we need to go into March.”

ASU is currently projected as the “last team in” for the NCAA Tournament in ESPN’s latest bracket projection from Friday, Feb. 20. Miller said that she talked to her squad about racking up statement wins as the season turns the corner to March.

“Eyes are on March. Eyes are on bubble teams. Eyes are on the bracket and postseason possibilities. So we’ve got to be clean, and we’ve got to be sharp. We've got to be playing our best basketball,” Miller said. “We had a talk about Iowa State, and what I saw today was that it meant something, and they listened, and we got better in areas that we needed to get better in.”

Washenitz said that playing with a chip on their shoulders will help solidify the Sun Devils' spot in the tournament.

“Once everyone starts getting on the same page and we all start matching each other’s energy, I think that's where we can be dangerous,” Washenitz said. “ It starts from the defensive end. When we can hold opponents under a certain amount of points and then capitalize on our steals and their turnovers, that’s huge for us.”

ASU’s next game is senior night, as it is the final home game of the season. Miller said that it’s emotional to think about.

“I reflect on my seniors. They took a leap of faith in me to entrust their last college career season with just a blind leap of faith. That to me is a special bond that speaks a lot about their character and what they wanted to do their last year,” Miller said.

Similar to Miller, Washenitz wishes that she had gotten more time in Tempe, but is grateful for the year that she got.

“I’m super grateful to have any amount of time here because this community has opened its arms to me. They’ve welcomed me, and I’ve seen so much growth and support for women’s basketball here from our first game up until today. You can see the difference in energy, and it’s really fun to hear the fans and the support,” Washenitz said.

The Sun Devils host BYU on Feb. 25, where they will honor their seniors, but the game means a bit more to Washenitz and the rest of the team, as the Cougars handed ASU its first loss of the season back in January.

“Being able to get revenge is something we definitely want. We need to either kill or be killed. That’s our mentality,” Washenitz said.