Jan. 11, 2007
SEATTLE (AP) - Freshman Jayne Appel made seven straight shots in the first half and finished with 19 points, Candice Wiggins added 17 and No. 10 Stanford pulled away in the second half for a 77-56 victory over Washington on Thursday night.
The undersized Huskies couldn't slow the 6-foot-4 Appel or 6-3 Brooke Smith inside as Stanford (13-3, 6-0 Pac-10) held a 50-22 advantage on points in the paint and easily rolled to its 11th straight win.
Smith finished with 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Wiggins pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds and the Cardinal remained the only undefeated team in conference play.
Reserve Sami Whitcomb led Washington (12-6, 5-2) with 13 points, but leading scorer Cameo Hicks was held to 11, seven under her season average. The Huskies shot a season-low 28 percent and lost to a ranked team for the fifth time this season.
Washington had a nine-game win streak snapped last Sunday at No. 11 Arizona State, and had won 11 straight at home. Stanford has won six of the last seven against Washington.
Appel scored all 15 of her first-half points in the final 4:37 of the half - all but two of Stanford's points during that stretch - as the Huskies lack of an interior presence was completely exposed.
Leading 26-21, Appel started a 15-7 run making short hook shots or scoring uncontested under the basket. Appel's easy layup as the halftime buzzer sounded gave the Cardinal a 41-28 advantage, giving the Cardinal a 13-point advantage at halftime.
Washington started the game shooting just 4-for-23 and the struggles returned to start the second half, as it missed its first eight shots. Stanford scored the first 10 points of the half to take a 51-28 lead and led by as many as 29.
Freshman J.J. Hones added 10 for the Cardinal. During Stanford's win streak, only Arizona State has scored more than 59 points.
NOTES: Stanford's winning streak is now at 11 games, the longest since a 23-game stretch in 2004-05 and one of 17 double-digit winning streaks in program history ... After attempting just one free throw in the previous three games combined, Brooke Smith was 4-4 in her chances at the foul line tonight ... Stanford held a commanding 50-22 edge in points in the paint ... Candice Wiggins picked up her first double-double of the year, scoring 17 points and pulling down a season-best 10 rebounds. It was her first double-double since scoring 24 points and snagging 12 boards against USC back on Mar. 6, 2005 in the Pac-10 Tournament. She has recorded four total in her career ... 44 of Stanford's 51 rebounds were defensive ... When the Cardinal arrived in Seattle on Wednesday night, the team was greeted by four inches of snow. The inclement weather was enough to force transportation delays at the airport, backing up taxi lines and causing the team bus to arrive one hour behind schedule. So while waiting to be shuttled to its hotel, the Cardinal conducted its pre-game film session in the airport, setting up the projector and laptop in an unoccupied area next to baggage claim ... Despite scoring just two points and pulling down five rebounds in 26 minutes, Jillian Harmon turned in a nice defensive effort against Washington standout Cameo Hicks, who shot a meager 4-13 from the field ... During Stanford's 11-game winning streak, Stanford is defeating its opponents by an average of 21 points ... We've found a challenger for USC in terms of best road band. Washington's contingent was impressive performing selections such as Styx's "Mr. Roboto", Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star."