Jeff Metcalfe
Guard Last-Tear Poa suffered a hand injury in the Arizona State women’s basketball season opener that will keep her out at least Saturday and likely longer.
Poa played through the injury Monday to record a career high 10 assists in ASU’s 67-53 win over Coppin State.
Coach Molly Miller said Friday that Poa is out for Saturday against Eastern Washington and will be day to day thereafter depending on the severity of the injury.
“The recovery for her will depend a lot on these next 24 or 48 hours,” Miller said.
Jyah LoVett and Amaya Williams are candidates to replace Poa in the starting lineup.
Poa is one of ASU’s leading incoming transfers.
She reached the pinnacle of team basketball success in 2023 when she played on LSU’s NCAA championship team.
She also was a junior college national champion at Northwest Florida State in 2022 when she was NJCAA Tournament most valuable player.
#ASU WBB Last-Tear Poa on her unique first name pic.twitter.com/hrfMCcctBA
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) November 7, 2025
There still is much for Poa to achieve in her final college season provided she can recover from her injury.
“Obviously this year is really important, not just for me and for this program,” Poa said in October. “Just setting myself for the future. The WNBA is the goal.”
Whether that’s realistic, even with two more expansion teams bringing the WNBA to 15 teams in 2026 and potentially larger rosters, is an open question that Poa will play a part in answering.
How much better and consistent can she be as a full-time starter compared to her 27 starts in 102 games over three seasons at LSU? The first result was a record setter for the 5-11 point guard.
Her 10 assists oddly enough were against the same team (Coppin State) she dished her previous high eight assists against in December 2023.
“She values passing,” Miller said. “That’s what’s beautiful about a point guard. When assists make her more happy than her scoring herself then you know you’ve got a true point guard on your hands.”
Poa committed five turnovers against Coppin State, but it’s not unreasonable to think that number could drop as she becomes more familiar with new teammates.
The bigger issue thinking ahead to pro basketball is her scoring. She averaged just 3.5 points at LSU with a single-game high of 14 in the 2024 SEC Tournament. It’s vital for her to be an offensive threat particularly at the next level to keep defenses honest.
Poa only took four shots against Coppin State — perhaps in part due to the hand injury — making two and finishing with five points.
“We couldn’t have got our shots and our points without her finding us,” said Marley Washenitz, one of four Sun Devils scoring in double figures against Coppin State. “We want to celebrate our assists as much as we celebrate points scored. She deserves a lot of credit because she followed the game plan and she did what coach asked.
“I’m happy for her. All her hard work is paying off. She can be someone that everyone should look out for.”
Miller believes Poa is better conditioned than ever before. The two appear to have a chemistry that was missing with LSU coach Kim Mulkey especially last season when Poa missed several games due to a team rules violation then later opted to transfer.
Poa started 15 games in 2024-25 including in the postseason but not against UCLA in a 72-65 NCAA Elite Eight loss. The Tigers reached the Sweet 16 or beyond in each of Poa’s three seasons including winning its first national title.
“The highest level of basketball is getting to that national championship tip-off,” Miller said. “She’s seen the progress which no one sees, the inside of every single day what it takes.
“You see the ball is tipped, 40 minutes then a good highlight at the end. It takes a lot to get there. Her shared experience. It’s the daily habits. You can’t just snap your fingers and cut down a net. She can really speak to what that looks like on the smaller honed-in view of how you’re taking care of your body, how you’re fueling yourself, how you’re managing class, travel and games.”
#ASU WBB coach Molly Miller on point guard Last-Tear Poa pic.twitter.com/fRoTwltulc
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) November 7, 2025
Poa, who is Australian and of Polynesian descent, filed a lawsuit while still at LSU challenging a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ruling denying her a P-1A visa that would allow her to make money while attending college like U.S. student athletes.
That case is continuing after a federal judge in September denied a USCIS request to dismiss the lawsuit.
Even a ruling in her favor might not come in time to financially benefit Poa but could help other international college athletes, the sort of legacy that former ASU swimmer Grant House had as namesake of a successful class action suit against the NCAA for name, image and likeness damages.
For now, there is no need to shed a tear for Last-Tear, who is happy at ASU and happy to again recount the story behind her unique first name.
Her great grandmother had a dream about someone in the family being pregnant.
“My mom at the time was really young and didn’t say anything,” Poa said. “A couple of months down the line we found out that my great grandma was in the hospital and was gasping for air. She was dying. The last tear came down her eye so the next child that was born was going to be named Last-Tear. It ended up being me.”
She has a beauty spot under her left eye that symbolizes her great grandmother, who died shortly before her birth.
Poa never wakes up wishing she had a name needing no explanation.
“It’s special and it means a lot to me,” she said. “I represent my great grandma and I represent my family. It’s different too. You don’t really hear any names like that. I love my name.”
