Appel Sits Out Stanford Pac-10 Finale

Jayne Appel sat at the end of the Stanford bench in street clothes with a walking boot on her right foot. But her uniform was in her bag, just in case.

The No. 2-ranked Cardinal defeated rival Cal, 63-48, in the final Pac-10 game of the season Saturday at Haas Pavilion and the All-American center was a spectator, the result of an ankle sprain she sustained Tuesday in practice.

It was the first time in 138 games that she didn't take the floor. The last time she missed a game was the first game of her freshman season when she was recovering from a shoulder injury.

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said that from the moment that Appel came down wrong after a simple practice layup drill, she knew that Appel would not play on Saturday.

"It was never wait-and-see," VanDerveer said. "It was one look and 'Not happening.' "

But the coach kept it under wraps the entire week, assuring the Bears would prepare for a game that included Appel.

Appel brought her uniform to the game on the off-chance that VanDerveer might let her take the floor. Heck, VanDerveer had her name put in the scorebook for the same reason. The situation called for extremely cautious optimism. Or wishful thinking.

"Our team doctor said that if this had been an NCAA game, Jayne could have hobbled and played really heavily taped," VanDerveer said. "But I just couldn't risk her getting hurt worse."

Appel, who broke the Pac-10 rebounding record last week, did not step on anybody's foot on Tuesday. She just landed wrong on her own foot, and then tried hard to "keep quiet" while lying on the floor as more than 40 elementary schools kids on a field-trip watched practice.

"I was trying to be a good role model," Appel said.

It was a scare for the coach and the player.

"You hear the scream and you see her go down and I was through the floor," VanDerveer said. "I thought it was a knee. I was glad it was an ankle, but it's a two-day sprain, obviously."

Appel sat on the bench Saturday while an entire section of her family and friends -- she grew up in nearby Pleasant Hill -- watched the game, sporting "Jayne's Addiction" T-shirts made with her picture especially for the occasion.

The Cardinal (28-1, 18-0) didn't need her to win, it turned out. Her post-mates, Kayla Pedersen and Nneka Ogwumike scored 23 and 22 points respectively to lead the Cardinal to a 63-48 win over the young Bears, closing out the program's first undefeated conference effort since 2002.

Her absence allowed freshman forward Joslyn Tinkle to log a career-high 34 minutes, in which she scored eight points to go with nine rebounds and three blocks.

The Stanford senior said she expects she will be back for the Pac-10 Tournament, where Stanford will open play Friday against the winner of Thursday's matchup between Washington State and Arizona.

"It's mostly a day-to-day thing, trying to get the swelling out, keep it elevated," Appel said. "I've only injured my ankle one other time, which is pretty lucky for how many games I've played. We'll see how it is."

The fact is there was no good reason for Appel to play in Saturday's game. The Cardinal had clinched the conference title and the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament. Winning a rivalry game and protecting an unbeaten record was not a good enough reason to risk Appel's availability for the rest of what Stanford hopes is a run to the Final Four.

VanDerveer put it in simple terms.

"She will not be rushed. I'm going to have to be convinced she's really, really healthy," VanDerveer said.