No. 7 Stanford 89, Arizona 64

1/17/2008 11:09 PM

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -Stanford posted an easy victory by dominating in the post.

Kayla Pedersen matched her season-high with 22 points and Candice Wiggins had 12 of her 19 points in the second half, leading the No. 7 Cardinal to an 89-64 over Arizona on Thursday night.

Jayne Appel added 16 points, JJ Hones 11 and Morgan Clyburn 10 as Stanford (15-3, 5-2 Pac-10) won its 10th straight against Arizona, which lost to a ranked team for the 22nd consecutive time and remained winless in the Pac-10.

``This is the best we have had. We had three post players really step up,'' Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said of Pedersen, Appel and Clyburn.

Ashley Whisonant led Arizona (6-11, 0-6) with 17 points, and Tasha Dickey had 14 and Amina Njonkou 13.

The Wildcats trimmed a 23-point deficit to 74-60 on a 3-pointer from Whisonant with 6:18 left before Appel and Pedersen had back-to-back baskets inside to seal the win.

Stanford made 10 of its first 13 field-goal attempts in the second half, culminating with a 3-pointer from Hones to give the Cardinal a 68-46 advantage.

``They are a very good team. They do a great job of executing and pretty much picked us apart,'' Wildcats coach Joan Bonvicini said. ``Pedersen is really good. She is smart. She took the shots that were good for her and her team.''

Wiggins scored her 10th point following the halftime break on a driving lay-in with 12:31 remaining to give Stanford a 65-44 cushion.

``She delivers every game,'' VanDerveer said.

Pederson took care of Stanford inside by shooting 8-for-10 and grabbing nine rebounds.

Pederson, who scored 14 points in the first half, converted a three-point play for a 63-42 lead with 13:12 left.

Wiggins scored eight points in the first six minutes, including a pair of three-pointers, and then a breakaway lay-up to give Stanford a 53-39 edge.

``I try to let the defense give me confidence. Getting easy shots opens up the three-pointers,'' Wiggins said. ``I'm confident that I can shoot, and I know with Jayne and Kayla there they are going to get rebounds in case you miss.''

Stanford built a 43-30 lead at halftime on Appel's lay-in at the buzzer as the Cardinal shot 56 percent from the field.