Rivalry renewed between Arizona and ASU women’s basketball despite Sun Devils’ season sweep

Molly Miller and the ASU Sun Devils may have gotten the best of Becky Burke and the Arizona Wildcats in the battle of first year head coaches. But in a rivalry, not just in football, but across all sports, that means so much to the state of Arizona, this season’s games show signs of something great rebuilding in the desert. Because, while there will always be a rivalry between the two programs and schools, Burke and the Arizona Wildcats, and Miller and ASU Sun Devils, have brought a level of passion and intensity back to the Duel in the Desert that has been missing for quite some time.

On the court, both games were about as close as they come. The Sun Devils narrowly defeated the Wildcats 68-61 in their first meeting, a back and forth game which saw both sides lead by as many as eight points. Defense was fiery, with a combined 36 turnovers, as a record crowd packed Desert Financial Arena in Tempe.

Then on Saturday, which happened to be Valentine’s Day and the state of Arizona’s 114th birthday, women’s basketball fans in State 48 were treated to another thriller. In the first game of a doubleheader at the McKale Center, Arizona and ASU went toe-to-toe, sending the game to overtime after the Sun Devils’ McKinna Brackens forced the extra period on a game-tying jumper with three seconds left in regulation. The Wildcats, which lack some of the same size, athleticism, and overall experience, ran out of steam in the extra five minutes, falling 75-69 in overtime.

So why does this matter? Because these teams, outfit with brand new coaches, staffs, and rosters, many of which are new to the state of Arizona and the Duel in the Desert rivalry, played with an unexpected, yet admirable, level of passion and intensity. Look no further than senior guards Noelani Cornfield for the Wildcats and Gabby Elliot for the Sun Devils.

Cornfield, a New York native who has made stops at Northwest Florida (JUCO), Southern Miss, and Buffalo, scored 19 points and dished out six assists, while connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the field in the matchup in Tempe. She followed it up with a 24-point, six-assist game in the rematch in Tucson as she tried to will her team to a win. For the Sun Devils, Elliot, a Detroit, Michigan native who began her career at Clemson, before playing at Michigan State and Penn State, dropped 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds on her home court, and 22 points on 8-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in Tucson on Saturday.

Neither of these women grew up anywhere near this rivalry, the state of Arizona, or even the Big 12 or Pac-12, yet they both understood what this rivalry can be and put their teams on their back to deliver.

While the play on the court has been electric under the first year head coaches, the crowd and support from the community has been even better. The first meeting Tempe set a Territorial Cup home attendance record for ASU, with 6,121 fans in attendance to watch the Wildcats and the Sun Devils claw it out.

After the game and record-setting crowd, Burke complimented the crowd, while making sure to raise the stakes

“It was great. I’m happy for them. We play in that environment every night.”

Whether that was a challenge or not to Tucson, it delivered, with a season-high 8,766 in attendance for Saturday’s overtime matchup.

“Just a fantastic environment. I know we won on the scoreboard, but women’s basketball won today,” said ASU head coach Molly Miller. “It’s great when you can draw eyes to your sport through rivalry. That’s a win, win.”

And while Becky Burke begins her career 0-2 against Miller, she feels exactly the same way.

“Yeah, it’s amazing. It’s great for our game. It’s great for the state of Arizona, obviously. I don’t think there’s any negatives to it at all. It was a great game. So, yeah, the crowd, the environment, though, Tucson did their thing per usual.”

Arizona State is fighting to stay alive for an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. In all reality, Arizona’s season has just four games left before a final farewell in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. Despite the programs trending in opposite directions to end the regular season, you’d better believe when the 2026-27 schedule is released, the Duel in the Desert will be the first two games circled on Burke and Miller’s calendars.