Dec. 30, 2001
TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State senior Amanda Levens scored 23 points and dished out a season-high seven assists to lead the Sun Devil women's basketball team to an 87-64 win over Arizona Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.
The victory, which lifts ASU to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-10, is the biggest for ASU in the series with Arizona since turning in a 29-point victory in 1980-81. It also marks the third straight victory in the series for ASU, something the Sun Devils had not done since winning four consecutive games during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons.
After Arizona jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, Arizona State went on a 9-0 run, which included five points from Levens, to take a 14-7 lead with 10:25 to play and never trailed again in the game. The Wildcats cut ASU's lead to one point on three occasions, but ASU went on another 9-0 run midway through the first half to go ahead 28-18 with 6:19 to play. Levens had 12 points in the first half to lead ASU to a 41-30 halftime advantage.
In the second half, ASU scored the first two buckets to go up by 15 points (45-30). Arizona got within 10 points, using an 11-2 run to cut ASU's lead to 62-52 with 9:04 to play, but ASU sophomore Betsy Boardman drained a three-pointer on the Sun Devils' next possession to quell the Wildcat rally. ASU led by as many as 26 points in the game en route to the 87-64 victory.
Four Sun Devils scored in double figures for the second time this year, led by Levens who had 23 points in her eighth 20-point performance of the year. Senior Cian Carvalho and Boardman each turned in season highs in scoring with 15 points and 14 points, respectively, while senior Melody Johnson registered her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
ASU's 87 points were a season high for the team, while the Sun Devils also turned in their best efforts of the year from three-point land and from the free-throw line, knocking down 54.5 percent of their three-point attempts (6-11) and 79.3 percent of their free throws (23-29).
For Arizona, freshman guard Dee-Dee Wheeler led the team with 17 points and five assists, while junior Krista Warren chipped in with 14 points. Senior Elizabeth Pickney just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Arizona State returns to action next weekend, traveling to Oregon State and Oregon. The Sun Devils take on Oregon State at 8 p.m. MST on Friday, Jan. 4 and head to Eugene to take on the Oregon Ducks at 2 p.m. MST on Sunday, Jan. 6. All of ASU's women's basketball games can be heard live on XTRA 910 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com.