PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Stanford proved too much for Washington State. For the 48th time in a row.
Jayne Appel scored 25 points and No. 7 Stanford beat Washington State 76-46 Friday night, remaining unbeaten in all 48 games against the Cougars since they started playing each other in 1983.
"That's disappointing," Washington State coach June Daugherty said. "We've been working hard on our front line play."
Jillian Harmon added 13 points for Stanford (18-4, 9-1 Pac-10), which won its fifth straight since a loss at California.
The Cardinal shot just 3-of-13 from 3-point range, and committed 16 turnovers against their overmatched foe.
"We have to take care of the basketball a lot better," VanDerveer said.
April Cook scored 11 points to lead Washington State (9-12, 2-8).
Appel, who sat out much of the second half, made 10 of 14 shots and added nine rebounds. The Cardinal shot 50 percent in the game and outrebounded the Cougars 47-34.
Washington State shot just 24 percent.
Appel, a 6-foot-4 center, had eight points as Stanford took a 23-6 lead with 12 minutes left in the first, making 10 of their first 15 shots.
The Cougars perked up when Cook hit a 3-pointer and two free throws to launch a 9-2 run and cut Stanford's lead to 27-15.
But Stanford closed out the half and took a 46-25 lead at the break.
Stanford pulled away in the second half, holding the Cougars under 50 points for the fifth time in the Pac-10 season.
But this outcome was substantially closer than Stanford's 102-53 win earlier this season.
"We're making gains," Daugherty said. "We're trying to get where they are at. It's a huge mountain to climb."
Washington State, which starts three freshmen, has already won four more games than it did all of last year. But the Cougars figure to have a tough weekend with No. 3 California coming on Sunday.
Notes
- With Friday's victory, Stanford now leads the all-time series against Washington State, 48-0
- Stanford wore its alternate black jerseys for just the second time this season Friday night. The only other time the team wore black was Nov. 16 at Baylor
- Jayne Appel's 23 points marked her fourth 20-point game this season
- Friday's game also marked the first time since Stanford's Jan. 18 game at California that a Cardinal player did not grab at least 10 rebounds
- Jayne Appel's 25 points increased her career total to 1,360, tying her for 18th on Stanford's all-time list with Meg Metzger (1979-83)
- Jayne Appel's three blocked shots increased her career total to 186, just 15 behind Val Whiting's school-record 201 blocks
- Washington State's 24.6 field-goal percentage Friday night marked the sixth time that Stanford has held an opponent to less than 30.0 percent from the field
- Jillian Harmon's 13 points brought her career total to 949, leaving her just 51 points shy of becoming Stanford's 29th member of the "1,000-Point Club"
- Jayne Appel's 10 field goals marked the fourth time this season that she had hit at least 10 shots from the floor
- The Cardinal's 20 assists Friday night marked the ninth time this season that the team recorded at least 20 assists in a game
- Jillian Harmon passed out a season-high six assists in Friday night's contest
- Melanie Murphy grabbed a season-high five rebounds in the contest