Feb. 24, 2002
TUCSON, Ariz. - Senior Amanda Levens scored a game-high 18 points as the Sun Devils were edged by Arizona 72-66 Saturday afternoon at the McKale Center in Tucson.
The win snapped ASU's three-game winning streak in the series with Arizona, while ASU will most likely get a chance to avenge the loss in its first game at next week's Pac-10 Tournament. A complete bracket for the inaugural Pac-10 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament will be announced at 4:30 p.m. PST on Sunday.
The first half stayed close with three ties and nine lead changes. Neither team was able to get ahead by more than four points for the first 14 minutes of the contest, until Arizona scored nine unanswered points to gain a five-point (28-23) edge with 5:49 left in the first. ASU quickly cut that lead back down to one (28-27) just 35 seconds later, then the Cats answered with a 7-2 spurt that gave them a six-point (35-29) lead at 2:22. Arizona held onto a 40-33 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, Arizona State forced four straight turnovers and two missed shots to cut the lead to three, 40-37 with 18:18 to play, but Arizona responded with a 7-0 burst, pushing out to a 10-point (47-37) lead with 14:23 left in the game. The Sun Devils scrapped back to within five (53-48) at 9:59, but UA countered with a 13-3 run to take a 15-point (66-51) lead with six minutes to play.
Arizona still had that spread with 3:25 left in the game and had to withstand a late 11-2 surge from the Sun Devils take the victory.
For the Sun Devils, Levens led all scorers with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Fellow senior Melody Johnson tallied her sixth double-double of the year with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Betsy Boardman also reached double digits in scoring, with 12.
Sophomore guard Aimee Grzyb led the Wildcats with 16 points and six assists, while junior Krista Warren finished with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Sophomore Candice Allen racked up 15 points, six rebounds and a trio of assists. Only seven Wildcats saw action in the game.