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		Morris Phillips on Cardinal basketball By Morris Phillips March 27, 2010

	Sportstalk: Morris the Cardinal 24-1 (18-0) continue to roll on with a huge 73-36 rout over the Georgia Bulldogs 25-9 (5-7) at the Sacramento Regionals on Saturday night. Jayne Appel had a busy night with 17 points to lead the Cardinal, Appel had five rebounds and played on a tender knee to help pace the team. First on the win the Cardinal extended their streak to 25 straight and they just plowed past Georgia? Stanford's playing well right now, at the right time. Of course, Appel's ankle is a concern, but she played six games with it now, and she's looked better each time out. Stanford's ability to hurt opponents offensively inside and out has to be their biggest asset, especially as they look forward to a rematch with Connecticut. Sportstalk: Coach VanDerveer said Appel is the hub of the wheel and that Appel can pass and make everything look good, plus she did it all on a bum ankle. How much of that bum ankle will Appel need to save when on March 29th they play their next game as they are one more step away from facing UConn? Appel gives Stanford's offense its most efficient look. When she's in the middle, with her long arms and ability to catch the ball and pass it out of double teams, Stanford is really hard to guard. Last year, she was incredible physical shape, which contributed to her 46-point game at this stage of the tournament against Iowa State. She's not at that level this year, and she won't be able to get there before April 6. But she's playing well and with six games under her belt since injuring the ankle, she's learning how to be effective despite the discomfort. Sportstalk: Credit the supporting cast for the Cardinal when Kayla Pedersen who had 13 points and 15 rebounds and Nnemkedi Ogwumike finished third with 11 points and 11 boards. This is the type of support that coach VanDerveer was talking about? In this game, Pedersen and Ogwumike provided the primary support, but it comes from a lot of places: Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, Jeanette Pohlen and others that play off the attention that Appel receives in the paint. Stanford's balance is hard to deal with, and their use of the triangle offense fits their personnel perfectly. If you watch Stanford, they use NBA-style spacing to really give opponents fits. It's extremely hard to provide help defense on Stanford because they space and pass so well.