Dec. 28, 2006
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Jayne Appel scored 15 points and Kristen Newlin had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 14 Stanford to an 86-58 win over Arizona on Thursday night.
Candice Wiggins, the Cardinal's leading scorer who was playing for the first time since sitting out two games with a sprained left hamstring, also had 12 points for Stanford (8-3, 3-0 Pac-10). The two-time All-American and Pac-10 player of the year missed her first seven shots and finished 4-of-12 from the floor.
Brooke Smith added 12 points and five rebounds for Stanford, which won its sixth straight and extended its conference home winning streak to 47 games.
Stanford led 40-26 at halftime and coasted in the second half, leading by as much as 29 points on the way to its seventh consecutive win over the Wildcats.
Ashley Whisonant scored 13 points for Arizona (6-8, 0-2). The Wildcats have dropped three straight and five of their last six.
Newlin did most of her damage in the first half, scoring nine points and grabbing eight rebounds while helping Stanford build a 40-26 lead.
Wiggins, who missed her first four 3-point attempts, opened the second half with two 3-pointers in the first minute. She later added another 3 with 14:46 remaining to give the Cardinal a 54-35 lead.
Stanford led by as much as 29 points in the second half, allowing coach Tara VanDerveer to empty her bench late in the game.
Arizona made a brief run at the Cardinal, closing within 33-24 on Malia O'Neal layup with 2:11 left in the first half, before Stanford closed out the half with a 7-2 run capped by Cissy Pierce's 14-foot jumper at the buzzer made it 40-26.
NOTES: Stanford improves to 43-12 all-time against Arizona and has now won the last seven meetings, six of those coming by double-digit margins ... Jayne Appel has totaled as many blocked shots (20) as all 11 of Stanford's opponents combined (20) ... Tonight marked the second time this season the Cardinal placed at least five players in double-figures, as five players also accomplished the feat in a 88-56 thrashing of Santa Clara on Nov. 29 ... No Stanford player played more than 30 minutes ... Kristen Newlin, who leads the Cardinal with 8.4 rebounds per game, has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in a game on five different occasions ... Tonight's crowd of 3,230 is the largest of the season through seven home games ... Stanford has totaled almost as many assists (199) as its opponents' turnovers (209) ... There were 29 steals combined in the contest, including a season-best 15 by Stanford ... Candice Wiggins has scored in double-figures in her last seven games. Wiggins, who missed the first two games of her collegiate career last week at USC and UCLA, was playing for the first time since Dec. 16 versus Utah ... Brooke Smith has torched the Wildcats in seven career games, making 39-62 opportunities for a 62.9 field-goal percentage. She is also averaging 7.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.