Jan 19, 2002
LOS ANGELES - Senior Melody Johnson turned in her third double-double of the season, but it wasn't enough as USC downed Arizona State 68-49 Saturday afternoon at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, snapping the Sun Devils' four-game winning streak.
The Sun Devils fell behind early in the first half, getting down by as many as 11 points, 28-17 with 4:57 to play in the half. ASU, however, finished the half on a 7-0 to pull within four points and cut USC's halftime lead to 28-24. The Sun Devils shot just 29.4 percent in the first half compared to 40 percent for the Trojans, while Johnson had eight points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes to lead ASU.
In the second half, ASU cut the lead to two points with an opening score and stayed within three points through the first seven and a half minutes. USC, however, used a 9-0 run to stretch its lead to double digits and led by as many as 21 late in the half. The Trojans outrebounded the Sun Devils 25-15 in the second half and shot 42.6 percent to 33.3 in the half en route to the victory.
For ASU, Johnson had 16 points and 11 rebounds, while senior Amanda Levens was the only other Sun Devil in double figures with 11 points in just her second game back from her ankle injury. Senior Cian Carvalho had eight rebounds. Four Trojans scored in double figures led by Aisha Hollans who scored all 16 of her points in the second half.
Arizona State continues its grueling four-game road trip next weekend, traveling to Cal on Thursday night and fourth-ranked Stanford on Saturday afternoon. Both games can be heard broadcast live on XTRA 910 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com, while the Stanford game will also be televised to a live national cable audience on Fox Sports Net. The Cal game tips off at 7 p.m. PST/8 p.m. MST, and the Stanford contest starts at 1 p.m. PST/2 p.m. MST.