Nov. 24, 2001
ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands - Senior Melody Johnson scored a season-high 18 points, but it wasn't enough as the 21st-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils fell to Western Michigan 77-63 in the first round of the Paradise Jam Saturday afternoon.
Johnson led the Sun Devils with 18 points and six rebounds, while senior Leah Combs was the only other Sun Devil in double figures with 10 points.
Arizona State never led in the game. The Sun Devils fell behind early in the first half and trailed by as many as seven points early on. ASU tied the game at 21 with 8:34 to play when senior Amanda Levens knocked down a three-pointer, but Western Michigan answered with a 6-0 run. The Broncos outshot the Devils 73.9 to 51.7 percent in the first half and led 41-36 at the half.
In the second half, ASU closed to within three points with 9:40 to play in the game when freshman Lauren Stagg had a layup to make it 54-51 but never got any closer.
Western Michigan's Casey Rost led the game with 22 points, while a total of four Broncos were in dbouel figures. Stagg had a career best six points for ASU, while freshman Kylan Loney and sophomore Jen Albert turned in career outings as well with six and five points, respectively.
Arizona State, now 2-2 on the year, returns to action Sunday afternoon, taking on Kansas State at 1:15 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, while the team will wrap up action in the Paradise Jam on Monday morning with a game against Richmond scheduled to tip off at 7 a.m. MST.
All of Arizona State's games this year can be heard live on XTRA 910 AM in Phoenix or on Arizona State's official web site at www.thesundevils.com.