BERKELEY, Calif. — Jayne Appel sat on the bench in a walking boot, sidelined by a bum right ankle the Stanford star hopes heals in time for next weekend’s Pac-10 tournament.
Until she returns, coach Tara VanDerveer is counting even more on Nnemkadi Ogwumike and Kayla Pedersen. They delivered Saturday, all right.
Ogwumike had 22 points and 14 rebounds and the second-ranked Cardinal completed their first unbeaten run through the Pac-10 schedule since 2002 with a 63-48 victory over rival California.
The Cardinal (28-1, 18-0 Pac-10) struggled early playing without the All-American center Appel, who came down wrong on her ankle during a layup drill in practice Tuesday. Appel said she plans to play in next weekend’s Pac-10 tournament.
“She will not be rushed. I’m going to have to be convinced she’s really, really healthy,” VanDerveer said.
Stanford missed Appel’s presence in the paint and never looked in sync while winning a 19th straight game since the team’s lone loss at top-ranked Connecticut on Dec. 23.
Pedersen added 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal, who already secured their 10th straight Pac-10 regular-season title and will be the top seed heading into the conference tournament in Los Angeles. Stanford is trying for a third straight trip to the Final Four.
Appel had missed only one other regular-season game, the first one of her freshman season. She had played in 138 straight games since, the most by any female player at Stanford.
“When we were stretching we were talking about how we needed to pick up the slack,” Pedersen said of her chat with Ogwumike. “We always look to dominate any way we can.”
Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 15 points in what might have been her final home game at Haas Pavilion for Cal (17-12, 11-7). The Golden Bears host first- and second-round NCAA tournament games March 20 and 22, but they aren’t close to being a lock to receive a berth. It will come down to the conference tournament. They open against Arizona State.
“We’ve got to do something in the tournament, got to do something in that to get to NCAAs,” coach Joanne Boyle said. “It is what it is at this point. There’s no sugar coating it.”
Cal reached the NCAA regional semifinals last season for the first time in Boyle’s fourth season. The Bears have been to the NCAAs in all four of Boyle’s previous years in Berkeley.
“We’ve just got to get better on some things. Rebounding is big for us. Me having one rebound is unacceptable,” Gray-Lawson said. “Coach Boyle was talking downstairs we’ve never been in this situation. For us, if you play hard and execute, great things happen.”
UCLA 70, Arizona 61
LOS ANGELES — Erica Tukiainen scored 20 points to lead the Bruins to their eighth straight victory. Jasmine Dixon added 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds and Markel Walker had 13 points for UCLA, which tied the school record for conference victories. UCLA earned a bye in the Pac-10 tournament as the second seed. Arizona is the eighth seed and takes on ninth-seeded Washington State on Thursday.
USC 62, Arizona St. 52
LOS ANGELES — Ashley Corral scored a game-high 20 points and the Trojans won their fifth straight game to clinch the No. 3 seed in Pac-10 Tournament and a first-round bye. USC, which broke the 17-win barrier for the first time since the 2005-06 season, faces Oregon in the tournament quarterfinals on Friday.
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