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Appel leads Standford to 68-46 win over Fresno St

Dec 31, 2009 - 6:13 AM FRESNO, Calif.(AP) -- Jayne Appel flourished once she got used to the mismatch - and Stanford coasted.

Appel had 20 points and 18 rebounds and No. 2 Stanford pulled away in the second half to beat Fresno State 68-46 Wednesday night.

"I like playing against bigger players," the 6-foot-4 Appel said. "I get a little uncomfortable when someone little is on me."

Kayla Pederson added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Stanford (10-1), which outrebounded the smaller Bulldogs 53-29.

Jaleesa Ross and Emma Andrews scored 10 points apiece for Fresno State (8-5), who trailed 24-19 at halftime.

After Hayley Munro's putback brought the Bulldogs to 26-25 early in the second half, the Cardinal put the game away with a 30-2 run over 10 minutes.

Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins called two timeouts during the surge but couldn't stop Stanford's momentum.

After the Cardinal switched to a zone defense, something coach Tara VanDerveer said her team didn't practice, the Bulldogs went nearly early minutes without scoring.

"It stopped their penetration," VanDerveer said. "I said we're going to come in a zone after a dead ball and we're going to stay with it until they score. And they didn't score for a long time."

It was Stanford's first game since its 80-68 road loss Dec. 23 to top-ranked Connecticut.

The Cardinal, who start four players 6-feet or taller, used its size advantage to dominate the paint. Stanford finished with 18 offensive rebounds, including six by Appel.

The Bulldogs started one 6-footer.

Appel and Pedersen, who are both listed at 6-4, also combined for six of the Cardinal's eight blocked shots.

Appel had 13 points and 10 rebounds during Stanford's second-half surge that ended with the Cardinal leading 56-27.

"We got the ball to Jayne on the block, and she delivered for us," VanDerveer said. "I thought she was the difference in the game."

The Bulldogs entered shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc but finished just 3 of 19 (15.8 percent) against Stanford.

"We got the shots we wanted," Wiggins said. "But there's a huge difference between someone 5-10 running at you and someone 6-4. The rim looks a lot different."

Fresno State played a scrappy first half by forcing turnovers and holding the ball until late on the shot clock.

Stanford trailed 13-10 when Lindy La Rocque scored on a give and go and Jeanette Pohlen hit two 3-pointers to fuel the Cardinal's 12-0 run.

Ross gave the Bulldogs an early 11-8 lead by hitting a 3-pointer off an assist from Marnique Arnold, who stole the ball in the backcourt.

Both teams started slowly. They combined for 13 missed shots and four turnovers before Stanford's Rosalyn Gold-Onwude hit an open 3-pointer 4:05 in for the game's first points.