LAS VEGAS-Alyssa Campanella, a 21-year-old auburn-haired California girl, won the Miss USA crown on Sunday night.

Campanella, who is from Los Angeles, topped a field of 51 beauty queens to take the title at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. She will represent the nation in this year’s Miss Universe pageant in September in Brazil.

The pageant had three competitions: swimsuit, evening gown and interview questions.

The contestants were whittled to 16 after the show’s opening number, in which the beauty queens introduced themselves one-by-one. The top 16 were picked by preliminary judges through competitions and interviews during the week before the telecast. Judges picked the top eight after the swimsuit competition and the top 4 after the evening gown portion.

Miss Tennessee Ashley Durham was the first runner-up. Contestants from Alabama and Texas placed third and fourth.

(CBS News/AP)