Cardinal place call to Appel

LOS ANGELES – When No. 2 Stanford inexplicably stalled in the second half of its Pac-10 tournament opener, coach Tara VanDerveer was forced to break the glass on her emergency plan.

That would be the All-American center sitting on her bench.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 25 points and the Cardinal got a second-half boost from injured star Jayne Appel in a 72-52 victory over Arizona on Friday in the Pac-10 quarterfinals.

VanDerveer had hoped the Cardinal (29-1) could get through their first game – and maybe the entire tournament – without using Appel, whose sprained right ankle could use more rest for the NCAA tournament. Yet Appel has told VanDerveer she feels just fine, and VanDerveer was forced to believe it after Appel sparked Stanford to a tougher-than-expected win.

“Just her presence out there was really relaxing to everyone on the team, including me,” VanDerveer said. “Jayne came in and gave our team a great spark. We weren’t getting the perimeter shooting we needed, so it kind of was an inside game.”

Stanford led 43-40 with 13:21 to play when VanDerveer went to Appel. The Cardinal immediately scored eight straight points and made a 19-6 run.

“Once I got comfortable on the court, it just felt like my own ankle,” Appel said. “You just kind of forget about it in competition. … There’s no missing strength from it, so that’s what keeps me thinking positively about it.”

Jeanette Pohlen scored 15 points on five 3-pointers for the Cardinal, who won their 20th straight and advanced to face California in today’s semifinals. Yet the mighty Cardinal got a useful test when they struggled to shake the Wildcats (14-17), who dressed only eight players and had to win a play-in game Thursday.

Appel had seven points and three rebounds in her 10:06 of playing time – a far cry from her school-record, 46-point performance in last season’s NCAA regional final in Berkeley, but more than enough to finish off the Wildcats.

(23) UCLA 60, Oregon St. 44: Jasmine Dixon scored 14 points, Markel Walker added 10 and the Bruins (23-7) rolled into the semifinals with a win over the Beavers (11-20).

Erica Tukiainen hit three 3-pointers for the second-seeded Bruins, who have won nine straight and 13 of 14 in coach Nikki Caldwell’s impressive second season.

UCLA will meet USC in tonight’s second semifinal.

Julie Futch scored 13 points and Haiden Palmer added 10 for Oregon State, which set a Pac-10 tournament record and season high with 33 turnovers in its 18th loss in 20 games.

California 60, Arizona State 50: Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 15 points, DeNesha Stallworth added 14 points and eight rebounds, and the Golden Bears (18-12) pulled away in the final minutes to advance to the semifinals with a victory over the Sun Devils (17-13).

Natasha Vital scored 12 points for the fourth-seeded Golden Bears, who broke open an even quarterfinal game with 8 minutes to play.

Cal went on a 14-4 run led by Gray-Lawson, the fifth-year senior and the Pac-10’s second-leading scorer. Stallworth, the Bears’ promising freshman, scored 12 points in the second half.

Southern California 80, Oregon 76: Briana Gilbreath scored 19 points to lead the third-seeded Trojans (19-11) past the sixth-seeded Ducks (16-15).

Ashley Corral had 16 points and Kari LaPlante 15 for the Trojans, who won their sixth straight.

The Ducks pulled as close as 72-71 when Micaela Cocks made two free throws with 1:09 remaining. But Jacki Gemelos sank four free throws in the final 15 seconds to preserve the victory.

Lilley Taylor led the Ducks with 22 points.