Jayne will be the inside force

In her preseason report of the Bay Area women's basketball teams, San Francisco Chronical Staff Writer Michelle Smith has this to say of the Cardinal:

Jayne Appel will be the inside force on a Stanford team that might operate on the outside a bit more.

Stanford, also opening practice Saturday, is again planted firmly among the nation's top 25 teams in preseason rankings, and the Cardinal are looking to atone for last year's unexpected second-round NCAA exit on their home floor.

Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said her team, led by three-time All-American Candice Wiggins, will be much different than last year's post-oriented team.

"This is going to be more of a perimeter team, which is what happens when you lose players like Brooke Smith and Kristen Newlin," VanDerveer said. "But I'm excited about how well our returners are doing."

Wiggins, a senior, fought through injuries much of last season, but led the Cardinal in scoring at 16.9 points a game and spent the summer playing for USA Basketball, where she won gold medals for the Under-21 World Championship team and the Pan-Am Games team. She was selected as an alternate to the U.S. senior national team.

Wiggins is joined by center Jayne Appel, last season's Pac-10 Freshman of the Year who averaged 13.2 points a game in under 20 minutes a game. Also back is forward Jillian Harmon. Point guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude returns after missing last season with a knee injury. The Cardinal add stellar freshmen in forwards Kayla Pedersen and Jeanette Pohlen, both selected to the McDonald's All-America team.

Guard JJ Hones, who sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in February is still a month away from joining practice, VanDerveer said. Freshman Ashley Cimino is rehabilitating a back injury and will not be able to start practice Saturday.