March 16, 2001
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Ke-Ke Tardy scored 21 points and Marie Ferdinand added 19 points as Louisiana State beat Arizona State 83-66 Friday in the first round of the Mideast Regional.
The sixth-seeded Lady Tigers (20-10) trailed early against the No. 11 Sun Devils before going on a 17-8 run that gave them a lead they would not relinquish.
LSU will play the winner of the UC Santa Barbara-Purdue game.
Arizona State (20-11) went on a 6-0 run to get the score to 50-42 with 15:28 left. The Lady Tigers, who have made the round of 16 in three of the last four years, pushed the lead back to double-digits. They led by as many as 20 points.
Melody Johnson scored 25 points for Arizona State. She was 8-of-13 from the floor and 9-of-13 from the line.
Tardy and Ferdinand each scored 10 points in the first half as the Lady Tigers shot 64 percent from the floor. They finished a combined 14-for-23.
Kisha James scored 13 points for LSU, and April Brown and De Trina White each had 10.
By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer