Jan. 24, 2002
BERKELEY - Senior Cian Carvalho turned in 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Arizona State to a 56-40 victory Thursday night at Cal's Haas Pavilion. With the victory, ASU, winner of five of its last six games, improves to 16-5 on the year and 7-3 in the Pac-10, while Cal falls to 6-12 and 1-8 in league action this year.
In a match-up of the Pac-10's top two defensive teams, the Sun Devils held the Golden Bears to a season-low 40 points, marking the third time this year that ASU, the Pac-10's leader in scoring defense, has held a team to that scoring low. It also marked Cal's lowest point production since Feb. 10, 2000, when the Bears dropped a 52-33 decision to Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore.
The two teams played it close in the first half with ASU taking its largest lead of the period with a 15-10 advatnage with 6:56 to play when senior Rainy Crisp had a layup. Cal closed the gap to one point late in the period, and ASU took a 24-22 lead into the locker room. Cal sophomore LaTasha O'Keith had 10 of her points in the first, and the Bears outrebounded ASU 18-14. Carvalho had seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and four rebounds in the first half to lead the Sun Devils.
In the second half, Arizona State jumped out to a 21-7 run, knocking down its first seven shots to go up 41-29 with 13:16 to play. Carvalho scored seven points in that run, while the Sun Devils held Cal scoreless for over nine minutes to take a 45-31 lead with 6:22 to play. Cal mounted a 6-2 run late in the half but never got closer than 11 points in the ASU victory.
Carvalho led the game in scoring and rebounding with her 14-point, seven-rebound performance, while senior Amanda Levens was the only other Sun Devil in double figures with 10 points. Freshman Kylan Loney led the with five assists, while senior Melody Johnson contributed eight points and six rebounds to the Sun Devil effort. Levens also added four rebounds and three assists in the win.
O'Keith was the only Cal player in double figures with 13 points. She also led the team with six rebounds. Senior center Ami Forney, Cal's leading scorer entering the game at 12.9 ppg, was held to only four shots from the field, ending the night with seven points.
After being outrebounded 18-14 in the first half, ASU held a 35-26 rebounding edge for the game. While ASU struggled from the perimeter, knocking down only 1-of-11 three-point attempts, the Sun Devils outshot the Bears 47.7 to 34.9 percent in the game.
Arizona State returns to action Saturday afternoon, traveling across the Bay to take on third-ranked Stanford. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. PST/MST at Stanford's Maples Pavilion. Fox Sports Net will televise the game to a live national cable audience, while the game can also be heard locally on XTRA 910 AM or via the internet at www.thesundevils.com.