U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS (AP) -- With a 17-point halftime lead over No. 4 Stanford, Temple coach Dawn Staley warned her team about Cardinal guard Candice Wiggins leading a big rally.
Then it happened.
Wiggins scored 22 points to lead Stanford (5-1) to a 63-54 victory at the Paradise Jam on Sunday night.
"I told them exactly what was going to happen in the second half, exactly," Staley said. "I told them what Candice Wiggins was going to do in the second half. She's built for these types of games. She came out and willed her team to win."
Stanford (5-1), which lost to second-ranked Connecticut last week and took third place in the tournament, also got 16 points from Jayne Appel and 13 from Jillian Harmon, who grabbed 10 rebounds.
Stanford, which trailed 39-22 at halftime, opened the second period with a 17-0 run, capped by Kayla Pedersen's reverse layup that gave them a 41-39 lead with 12:45 to play.
"It looked dismal for us at halftime, but it was really important for us to come out and play the way we're capable of playing," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer. "I'm really proud of how our team battled."
Wiggins had three assists and went 8-for-9 from the free throw line, including 4-for-4 during a 13-0 spurt that put the Cardinal ahead 61-52 with a minute to play.
She said the main difference in the second half was Stanford's defensive intensity that forced 10 turnovers compared to three in the first half. The Cardinal scored 18 points off turnovers compared to three for the Owls.
"We definitely just had to pick it up on the defensive end," Wiggins said. "I think we had a different mindset."
She said she always believed the team would pull out the victory.
"For some reason, I was thinking 'Dang, we're down 19,' but it never crossed my mind we were going to lose the game. And I think that's maybe why we won," she said.
Ashley Morris led Temple (2-4) with 19 points, shooting 4-for-9 from behind the arc in the first half, and Lady Comfort added 14 with nine rebounds.
The Owls jumped out to an 8-2 lead and pushed their advantage to 39-20 on a shot by Lady Comfort with less than a minute to play in the first half.
Stanford's top post players, Pedersen and Appel, both picked up early fouls and Temple pounded the ball inside. Appel fouled out with 4:23 to play on a layup Shenita Landry.
The Owls shot 56 percent overall in the first half, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range, while holding the Cardinal to only 32 percent, including 0-for-5 from behind the arc.
But the Owls cooled off and shot 5-for-24 in the second half.
Staley said the main difference in the second half was her team's inability to hit shots.
"Ashley was a warrior, she just didn't get any help in the second half," she said. "We have a young team that doesn't know how to handle situations like that."
Stanford was outrebounded 5-1 in the opening minutes but ultimately dominated the boards 37-27.