Stanford's Jayne Appel shoots and scores against Pittsburgh's Mercedes Walker during the first half. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)

March 30, 2008

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Jayne Appel scored 22 points to lead second-seeded Stanford to a 72-53 victory over a tough Panthers squad Saturday night to advance to the finals of the Spokane regional.

Kayla Pedersen added 10 points and 15 rebounds for Stanford (33-3), which takes its 21-game winning streak into Monday night's regional final against Maryland (33-3). The top-seeded Terrapins beat Vanderbilt 80-66 earlier Saturday night.

"We knew it was going to be a 40-minute game. We stayed together, that was the biggest thing," Wiggins said. "We could look in each other's eyes and trust we were going to do a good job."

Wiggins, the All-American who scored a career-high 44 points in the second round, scored just 14, on 5-for-13 shooting from the field.

"Our team really had to battle," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "It wasn't pretty. It was a very physical game, but I am proud of how our team stepped up."

Shavonte Zellous scored 22 points to lead sixth-seed Pitt (24-11), which trailed by one with 8 1/2 minutes left before Stanford pulled away. The Panthers tied a school record for wins and reached their first regional semifinals.

Wiggins didn't take a shot for the first 8 1/2 minutes and her first basket didn't come until 11:17 into the game. She missed five of her first eight shots while the Panthers continually pounced on her out of defensive switches through screens.

Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, who scored 15 points - two short of her career high - then rescued Stanford with a jumper and then a 3-pointer. Wiggins recovered to make a smooth scoop shot in the lane after a ball fake to put the Cardinal up 56-46 with 6:25 left.