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STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford jumped to such a big lead that
Candice Wiggins got to do more resting than usual. Freshman Kayla Pedersen scored 18 points and Wiggins added 13 in
limited time, leading the sixth-ranked Cardinal past San Francisco
96-61 in their home opener Wednesday night. Jillian Harmon had 16 points and seven rebounds for Stanford
(6-1), which has the talent to be a balanced offensive team every
night. Stanford is picked to win its eighth straight Pac-10 title. USF guard Shay Rollins, the younger sister of NL MVP Jimmy
Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies, scored a team-high 19 points
with five 3-pointers in the first meeting between the schools in
nearly three years. Wiggins scored five straight early during a 20-2 Stanford run to
start the second half as the Dons (3-4) missed nine of their first
10 shots. Stanford had to be happy with a lopsided victory after returning
from a seven-day trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the
Cardinal placed third in the Paradise Jam after a 12-point loss to
No. 2 Connecticut. A sparse crowd turned out for the Cardinal's first
regular-season home game at Maples Pavilion, where Stanford already
hosted the U.S. national team in an exhibition matchup. Stanford won its 14th straight in the series dating to the
1984-85 season and the Dons fell to 4-10 on The Farm. Freshman guard Hannah Donaghe made her Stanford debut after
missing time with a hip injury and scored 11 points. She was an
important addition, too, after backup Stanford point guard Melanie
Murphy underwent tests that revealed a torn anterior cruciate
ligament in her left knee. She will miss the rest of the season and
have surgery in the coming weeks. Jayne Appel missed a couple of open shots from close range early
but finished 4-of-7 for eight points and also contributed seven
rebounds. Harmon, now coming off the bench for the Cardinal because
of her recent struggles, shot 6-for-8 and made all four of her free
throws. Stanford shot 58 percent for the game. The Cardinal went hard to the offensive glass to create second
and third chances, outrebounding the Dons 46-29. Stanford made 13 of its first 17 shots (77 percent) -- 5-for-5 by
Pedersen -- on the way to a 33-11 lead. And coach Tara VanDerveer
went with three freshman on the floor together late in the first
half as the Cardinal built a 49-28 lead at the break. Murphy was hurt against Old Dominion on Saturday when, while
trailing a player on a fast break, she tried to contest the shot
from behind and came down awkwardly on her leg. Murphy, who will
have surgery in the coming weeks once the swelling has subsided, is
the second Stanford player lost for the year after forward Michelle
Harrison sustained the same injury in the season opener Nov. 9 at
Yale.
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