Nov. 26, 2001
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -
Senior center Melody Johnson turned in her first double-double of the season to lead the Arizona State Sun Devils to a 68-57 victory over Richmond and win the 2001 Paradise Jam Monday morning.
Johnson finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds to record the sixth double-double of her Arizona State career and earn Paradise Jam Tournament MVP honors. Senior guard Amanda Levens, who averaged 15 points and four assists in the three-game event, was also named to the all-tournament team.
The Sun Devils fell behind early in the game, trailing the Spiders by as many 12 points when Richmond took a 19-7 lead with 11:48 to play in the first half. ASU, however, went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to one and took over for good with an 8-0 run that put the team 30-24 with 4:40 to play when senior Rainy Crisp scored on a pair of fast breaks.
ASU led a 35-28 at halftime and went up by as many as 14 points in the second half en route to the victory. The Sun Devils tied with Kansas State with a 2-1 record in the Paradise Jam but held the tiebreaker with the Wildcats after downing them 76-58 on Sunday evening.
For the Sun Devils, Johnson led the team in scoring and rebounding, while freshmen Kylan Loney and Lauren Stagg each turned in career highs with nine and seven points, respectively. Levens led the team with a season-high six assists. Three Spiders scored in double figures led by Krystn Gull with 12.
Arizona State, now 4-2 on the year, returns to action next weekend in Tempe with the ASU Holiday Classic, Dec. 1-2 at Wells Fargo Arena. ASU will take on Fordham in the first round on Saturday at 5 p.m., followed by Rutgers vs. Northwestern State at 7 p.m.
All of the ASU's games this year can be heard live on XTRA 910 AM or via Arizona State's official web site at www.thesundevils.com.