Feb. 16, 2002
TEMPE, Ariz. - Senior Amanda Levens had 13 points and tied a career high with nine assists to lead Arizona State to a 64-42 victory over UCLA on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Arena.
With the victory, Arizona State improved to 21-7 overall and 12-5 in the Pac-10 and maintained sole possession of second place in the Pac-10. The win also marked the eighth straight victory at Wells Fargo Arena, while the Sun Devils set a school record with a 13-2 record at home this season. ASU had turned in 12 home wins in each of the previous two seasons.
Arizona State took an early lead in the ball game and never looked back. The Sun Devils extended their lead with double digits late in the first half and led by as many as 14 points with 1:17 to play en route to a 30-18 halftime advantage. Levens had nine points and three assists in the first half, while sophomore Jen Albert came off the bench to knock down a pair of three-pointers and block a shot.
In the second half, UCLA made a small run, cutting the lead to 10 points on two occasions, the second when sophomore Gennifer Arranaga knocked down a jumper to make it 38-28 with 12:31 to play. Arizona State, however, answered with an 11-0 run to go up by 21 points to make it 49-28 with 7:56 left. The Bruins never got closer than 17 points as the Sun Devils notched their 21st victory of the season, marking the sixth straight season that ASU has improved its wins total from the season before as well as the most victories for the team since 1982-83.
Levens led the team with 13 points, tied her career high with nine assists and matched a season high with four steals. She also tied sophomore Betsy Boardman for the team lead with five rebounds. Boardman added nine points, while Albert and senior Melody Johnson each had scored eight, Albert on 3-of-4 shooting. Albert also finished the game with a career-high two blocks and tied her career best with four rebounds.
For UCLA (7-18, 3-13 Pac-10), junior Jalina Bradley paced the Bruins with eight points, while senior Shalada Allen had 10 rebounds.
Prior to the game, Arizona State honored its five seniors - Cian Carvalho, Leah Combs, Rainy Crisp, Johnson and Levens - who were playing in the final home game of their careers. ASU's seniors also had a special moment toward the end of the game when head coach Charli Turner Thorne put all five players into the game, the first time they had all been on the court at the same time. Johnson attempted the first three-pointer of her ASU career with 1:05 left in the game, and the five seniors left the game to a standing ovation from the home crowd.
"Our five seniors have helped establish a winning tradition here that will hopefully continue for the duration of Sun Devil women's basketball," Turner Thorne said. "I'm really proud of them. Any one of our five seniors could be in the starting lineup any night. That speaks to the talent of our senior class, which is the most talented one I know of in Arizona State history."
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend, traveling to Arizona on Saturday, Feb. 23. Fox Sports Net will broadcast the Arizona game to a live national audience, while the game can also be heard locally on XTRA 910 AM. Following next week's game in Tucson, Arizona State will travel to Eugene, Ore., for the inaugural Pac-10 Women's Basketball Tournament March 1-4 at Oregon's McArthur Court.