Nov. 9, 2007
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- The Stanford Cardinal opened their season with an easy victory. Their first real test will come Sunday.
Jayne Appel scored 20 points to help No. 7 Stanford rout Yale 100-44 on Friday, handing the Bulldogs their worst loss in school history.
Next up for the Cardinal is a showdown with No. 3 Rutgers.
"We'll have a better feel where we are after Sunday," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.
Stanford used its superior talent to dominate Yale from the start, scoring the first 16 points -- including six by Preseason All-American Candice Wiggins. She finished with eight points in just 11 minutes.
"We came out and established our inside game early," VanDerveer said.
Appel was 9-for-11 from the field, mostly hitting layups.
The Bulldogs didn't score until Sara McCollum hit two free throws with 16 minutes left.
Yale, which was hosting a ranked opponent for the first time, didn't score its first basket until Yoyo Greenfield hit a 3-pointer with 14:11 left in the half. After that basket, Stanford went on a 27-4 run over the next 8 minutes to put the game away.
Stanford held a 56-18 halftime advantage and saw its lead balloon to as many as 56 points in the second half. Freshmen Kayla Pedersen and Jeannette Pohlen each added 15 points for the Cardinal.
"I'm really proud of the freshmen," Wiggins said.
Jamie Van Horne scored 15 points to lead the Bulldogs, whose previous worst defeat was a 51-point loss to George Washington on Dec. 20, 2005.
"We took way too long to decide to play," Yale coach Chris Gobrecht said. "I was fearful of that. We were a no-show for 30 minutes."
Gobrecht is no stranger to Stanford, having coached at Washington for 11 years and Southern Cal for seven.
"It's tough to assess how good this team is," said Gobrecht of her former Pac-10 rival.
The only negative for Stanford was that sophomore Michelle Harrison injured her knee on a fastbreak layup midway through the half. She did not return.
"About the only disappointment was to have Michelle get hurt," VanDerveer said.
Stanford entered the season coming off a disappointing second-round loss to Florida State in the NCAA tournament. The Cardinal won their seventh straight Pac-10 regular-season title and are favored to do so again.
This was only the second meeting between the schools. Stanford beat Yale 75-61 at Maples Pavilion on Jan. 11, 1979.