STANFORD, Calif. (AP)--Jayne Appel had seen it before. Watching her teammate go down a second time wasn't any easier.
"It happened to JJ my freshman year too," said Appel, who had 19 points and 14 rebounds to help No. 8 Stanford rout No. 3 Rutgers 81-47 on Sunday. "You say `let's win it for her,' and move on."
Stanford lost junior point guard JJ Hones to a left knee injury with three minutes left in the first half. Her knee gave out while she was trying to plant for a shot and fell in a heap in obvious pain. Hones suffered a season-ending torn ACL in the same knee two years ago. She will undergo an MRI on Monday.
"Unfortunately she's experienced that before," Stanford Tara VanDerveer said. "It's upsetting to see a player go down like that. I can't explain the epidemic of knee injuries in women's basketball because we all do everything we can to prevent it."
Hones missed the first two games of the season with a minor injury. She made three of four 3-pointers and recorded a game-high six assists before being helped into the locker room.
She was also part of a run in the first half that helped the Cardinal gain the upper hand.
Kayla Pedersen added 17 points for the Cardinal (3-1), who won their fourth straight over the Scarlet Knights. Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 11 points.
Stanford beat its first ranked team of the season. The Cardinal lost at No. 10 Baylor a week ago.
"After last week we put things in perspective," Ogwumike said. "We dug in deep and started working harder."
Brittany Ray scored 17 points for the Scarlet Knights (2-2), who dropped a 66-52 decision at No. 7 California on Friday night.
"I wish we could have given them a better game," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "I see we have a lot of work to do. All is not lost in the score. We are a work in progress."
Rutgers 6-4 senior center Kia Vaughn picked up her third and fourth fouls early in the second half. She led the team with 10 points and blocked two shots before exiting. She has 10 blocks in four games.
"We still have a lot of things showing up," Vaughn said. "When we get back home there will be changes. We need to figure out what kind of team we are."
Rutgers was doing everything right in the opening minutes before falling apart when Stanford shifted into a zone defense. The Scarlet Knights committed all 10 of their first-half turnovers against the zone.
"I'm a junior and I'm still learning," Ray said. "We have five freshmen who just played in two big arenas for the first time. They got that experience and I know coach has a lot more to teach us."
Trailing 13-8 early on, the Cardinal outscored Rutgers 34-7 over the final 14:52 of the first half to take a 42-20 lead at the break.