STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -Jayne Appel had 16 points and nine rebounds and No. 11 Stanford survived an off day to beat UC Davis 84-49 on Sunday in its final tuneup before the start of Pac-10 play.
Kayla Pedersen added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the cold-shooting Cardinal, who returned home to Maples Pavilion after completing a tough three-game, nine-day road trip that featured losses at No. 6 Duke and eighth-ranked and defending champion Tennessee in a rematch of last season's NCAA title game. Stanford dropped a 79-69 overtime decision to the Lady Vols on Dec. 21.
Freshman Nnemkadi Ogwumike contributed 13 points and five boards and Michelle Harrison 13 points and six rebounds but Stanford (9-3) - picked to win its ninth straight regular-season conference crown - looked out of sync at times against the scrappy Aggies and struggled offensively all game. The Cardinal know they will need to be much sharper when they open the Pac-10 schedule at No. 24 Arizona State on Friday night.
Genevieve Costello scored 12 of her 15 points in the first half, making all four of her 3-point tries, and had four of her team's nine field goals before the break. The Aggies were outrebounded 26-12 and 53-27 overall, but they were the ones more effective from the perimeter - going 11-for-24 from 3-point range to 9-of-36 by Stanford. All but six of UC Davis' baskets were 3s.
Aside from Costello's 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range, five other players also added a 3 for the Aggies (4-6) in their fourth straight defeat that concluded a five-game road swing. Stanford was UC Davis' third straight coming off a postseason berth.
The Cardinal missed their first nine 3-point tries but crashed the offensive glass at every opportunity to create second-chance opportunities. Lindy La Rocque hit Stanford 's first and only first-half 3 at 10:43 and the Cardinal led 40-27 at the break despite going 2-of-14 from long range.
Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, Jeanette Pohlen and Jillian Harmon combined to start 0-for-14. Pohlen made a 3 with 2:25 left in the opening half.
Stanford won last season's meeting 62-41 but UC Davis leads the overall series 7-4 - with nine of those contests being played between 1974-79. Cardinal sophomore Hannah Donaghe played against the team of her older sister, Haylee, a junior for the Aggies. Hannah scored six straight Stanford points during one stretch midway through the second half.
Injured Stanford point guard JJ Hones is scheduled for surgery Monday on the torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, the same injury that sidelined her during her freshman season. Hones was hurt in the first half against Rutgers on Nov. 23.