Dec. 3, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - Juniors Amanda Levens and Melody Johnson earned all-tournament honors as the Arizona State women's basketball team fell to UC Santa Barbara 76-66 Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the ASU Holiday Classic held Dec. 1 and 3 at Wells Fargo Arena. La Salle downed Kent State 77-66 in the consolation game Sunday afternoon.
Joining Johnson and Levens on the ASU Holiday Classic all-tournament team were senior guard Jen Zenszer of La Salle, senior center Julie Studer of Kent State and senior forward Nicole Greathouse of UCSB, while UCSB senior guard Rachelle Rogers was named tournament MVP after scoring 17 points and grabbing six rebounds in the championship game.
Arizona State led for most of the first half, but UCSB finished the half on an 8-2 run and took a 27-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Gauchos outshot the Sun Devils 46.4 percent (13-28) to 30 percent (9-30) in the first half and 60 percent (30-50) to 38.3 percent (23-60) in the game.
In the second half, UCSB's hot shooting continued as the team hit a sizzling 77.3 percent of their shots (17-22) including 3-of-4 from three-point land. UCSB jumped ahead by as many as seven points in the early part of the second half, but the Sun Devils tied the game and went ahead 46-45 when Levens hit a pair of free throws with 12:18 to play. The teams battled to three more ties over the next two minutes before UCSB used a pair of unanswered three-pointers to go ahead for good.
For Arizona State, Levens turned in 20 points, her second 20-plus performance of the season, and tied a career best with a team-high five assists, while Johnson had 14 points. Freshman Betsy Boardman scored 13 points, going 6-of-10 from the field, and grabbed a team-high five rebounds. For UCSB, Rogers and sophomore guard Jessica Hansen paced the four Gauchos in double figures with 17 points each. Greathouse turned in a game-high seven rebounds.
In the consolation game, Zenszer led La Salle with 15 points en route to the victory, while Studer had a game-high 20 points for Kent State.
The Sun Devils, now 5-2 on the season, return to action Wednesday night when the team travels to Northern Arizona for a 7 p.m. matchup with the NAU Lumberjacks. Arizona State's game at NAU can be heard live on XTRA 910 AM or on the Internet at www.thesundevils.com.