Jan. 6, 2007
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Candice Wiggins made a season-high six 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and No. 12 Stanford extended its winning streak to nine games with a 69-44 victory over 21st-ranked California on Saturday.
The Cardinal (11-3, 5-0 Pac-10) beat the rival Golden Bears for the 14th straight time dating to 2001 and extended their longest winning streak since getting 23 in a row two years ago.
Freshman reserve Jayne Appel added 19 points and seven rebounds. Kristen Newlin scored seven of Stanford's first 11 points to help the Cardinal jump out to a quick 14-2 lead, and Jillian Harmon grabbed six of her seven boards before the game was 5 minutes old.
Ashley Walker had her sixth double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Cal (11-4, 2-3), which last beat the Cardinal in Berkeley on Feb. 12, 1993 - also the last game between the teams when they were ranked.
Rama N'diaye added 10 points, but the Bears couldn't overcome their season-worst 25 percent shooting, the lowest by a Stanford opponent this season. Cal's points also were a season low and fewest by a Stanford opponent.
The Bears have been determined to establish a legitimate rivalry between the Bay Area schools after being embarrassed for so long. Stanford, trying for its school-record seventh straight conference title, won both games last season by a combined 21 points.
Wiggins' 3-pointer at 14:39 in the first half moved her into sole possession of 10th place on Stanford's career list with 153. The two-time reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year, Wiggins hit another 8:04 before halftime following a 6-0 spurt by Cal.
Cal missed its first four shots of the second half and 11 of its first 12. After Lauren Greif's 3-pointer got the Bears on the board, Wiggins swished a 3 of her own on the other end moments later. Wiggins' fifth 3 of the game at 15:55 gave Stanford a 20-point lead, 41-21 - and the Cardinal answered whenever Cal did something right.
Bears star Alexis Gray-Lawson, out with a season-ending knee injury, asked to be in uniform for the game even though she couldn't play. Surgery to repair ligaments in her right knee was pushed back to next week because of swelling in the knee.
Cal switched between man and various zone defenses in the first half and Walker blocked Brooke Smith's shot on Stanford's second trip down on offense. But the Bears started the game 1-for-11 and shot only 22 percent (6-for-27) with seven turnovers to fall behind 31-18 at halftime. While Smith was not a big factor on offense for a change, she had seven rebounds and four assists.
Stanford next hosts South Carolina on Monday, Jan. 8, at Maples Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., as the Cardinal begin a three-game, six-day stretch.
NOTES: Stanford now leads the all-time series 47-15 and has won 14 in a row, a streak that spans almost six years. The last time Stanford and California hooked up while both clubs were ranked in the top-25 was Feb. 12, 1993. In that game, No. 25 California edged No. 8 Stanford 64-59 in Berkeley ... Not one West Coast program was represented during Saturday's CBS women's college basketball tripleheader that included Kentucky-Ohio State, Michigan State-Maryland and Tennessee-Connecticut. However, Candice Wiggins and Jayne Appel were both featured in separate segments during the afternoon ... California's 18 first-half points and 44 final points represented a season-low for a Cardinal opponent ... Candice Wiggins (18 points) knocked down a season-best six three-pointers. Since her return to the court (four games) on Dec. 28 against Arizona, Wiggins has made 16-30 from three-point territory (53.3-percent) ... More on Wiggins: In six career games against California, she is shooting 43-76 (56.5-percent) from the field while averaging 5.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists ... Jillian Harmon pulled down six of her seven rebounds in the first six minutes of the game ... California standout Devanei Hampton was limited to just five points on 2-8 shooting from the field ... Stanford's current nine-game winning streak is the team's best since a 23-game stretch in 2005 ... Jayne Appel has scored in double-figures in five straight games and nine overall ... Next week's Pac-10 road trip will not be an easy one for Stanford. The Cardinal face surging Washington (11-4, 4-0 Pac-10) to open the week before playing at Washington State, which has started 5-9 overall after finishing last year 8-20 ... Morgan Clyburn continues to receive increased playing time, participating in her 11th game of the year. Clyburn has proven to a be a valuable option off the bench so far, spelling Brooke Smith and Kristen Newlin in key spots while providing the Cardinal with another solid post presence ... Stanford is 10-1 when leading at halftime ... The crowd of 5,027 is a new Haas Pavilion record.