Nov. 26, 2001 – The final game in the women's St. John Division of Paradise Jam 2001 NCAA basketball tournament play saw the Kansas State Wildcats roll over the Western Michigan University Broncos, 91-62, Monday afternoon at the University of the Virgin Islands.
The Arizona State Sun Devils won the St. John Division of the tournament at the UVI Sports and Fitness Center Sunday afternoon by defeating Kansas State, 76-58. The Wildcats take home the second-place prize.
In earlier play Monday, Arizona State defeated the University of Richmond, 68-57.
Kansas State Wildcats 91, Western Michigan Broncos 62
The Wildcats racked up a sizzling 64 percent — connecting on 14 out of 22 — from behind the three-points arch, setting a new Paradise Jam tournament record.
"Three-point shooting can be a strength for us, but we don't always want to rely on that," Wildcats head coach Deb Patterson noted afterward.
"Their three-point shooting is outstanding," Broncos head coach Ron Stewart said of Kansas State.
The Wildcats (now 4-1 for the season) had five players in double figures — Kendra Wicker with 20 points, Laurie Koehn with 19, Kristin Rethman with 14, Megan Mahoney with 11 and Brie Dutmer with 10.
"We did a nice job defensively in the first half to set the tone," Patterson stated.
The Broncos (2-4 for the season) had three players in double figures — Casey Rost with 21, Kristin Koetsier with 14 and Karen Deurloo with 12. Lori Crisman led the team with six rebounds.
"We represented ourselves well, but we just ran out of gas," Stewart said.
Melody Johnson of Arizona State was named the division's most valuable player. Named to the division All-Tournament team were Michele Koclanes of Richmond, Amanda Levens of Arizona State, Casey Rost of Western Michigan, and Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker of Kansas State.
Arizona State Sun Devils 68, Richmond Spiders 57
No. 21-ranked Arizona State defeated the Richmond Spiders, 68-57, in Monday afternoon's first game in Paradise Jam 2001 women's St. John Division play.
The Sun Devils (4-2 for the season) missed seven of their first nine field-goal attempts. Then, midway through the first half, with the score 19-7 in favor of the Spiders (2-3), the Arizona went on an 11-0 romp.
The Sun Devils connected on 50 percent — 10 of 20 — from the field for the rest of the half, also rebounding the Spiders, 27-12. Richmond missed eight field goals during that time frame and committed seven turnovers. At the mid-point, Arizona led, 35-28.
In the second half, the Sun Devils never relinquished their lead, although the Spiders closed the margin to four points with 4:15 left in the game. That was as close as they would get, as the Arizona held them off to win the game.
Melody Johnson led the Sun Devils in both scoring, with 16 points, and rebounds, with 11. No other player scored in double figures; however, all but one scored.
"Our game plan is always to get everyone, all 11, involved in the rotation," Sun Devils coach Charli Turner Thorne said after the game. "We have played six games in nine days, and we were physically strained; so, it was good that the scoring was balanced."
Richmond coach Bob Foley said his players "missed too many easy opportunities We held them down but did not score."
Three Spiders scored in double figures: Krstyn Gull with 12 points, Michele Koclanes with 11, and Amber Goppert with 10.
