No. 2 Stanford 80, Washington St. 43

STANFORD, Calif. (AP)

Stanford's Nnemkadi Ogwumike felt a tingling sensation in her right elbow after colliding with another player early in the first half against Washington State.

The Pac-10's leading scorer went to the bench twice to get treatment, came back wearing a protective rubber sleeve on her elbow then proceeded to shred whatever defense the Cougars tried to throw at her.

Ogwumike had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Kayla Pedersen added 13 points and 10 rebounds and the second-ranked Cardinal rolled to an 80-43 victory Thursday night.

``I just hit arms with somebody,'' Ogwumike said. ``At first it was just kind of tingly but then (team trainer Tomoo Yamada) got a little bit of a pad on it and it helped me out.''

Keeping Ogwumike healthy and on the court was key for Stanford (14-1, 4-0 Pac-10), which lost guard Jeanette Pohlen to a right ankle injury early in the second half.

With J.J. Hones out with a sore left knee, the injury to Pohlen thinned Stanford's ranks though it didn't slow the Cardinal down against the smaller, slower Cougars (5-11, 0-5).

``This was a pretty physical game,'' Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said. ``We obviously want to have everyone stay healthy. In the meantime other people have to be ready.''

Ogwumike, who was selected Pac-10 Player of the Week on Monday, has been ready all season.

The conference's leading scorer recorded her sixth double-double of the season and went 11 of 15 from the field while topping the 20-point mark for the fourth straight game and the ninth time this season.

``It looks like she's living in the gym here at Stanford,'' Washington State coach June Daugherty said. ``She's very hard to guard. We tried to rotate four different frontline players to her. She's somebody that just does not want to be denied.''

Jayne Appel added 14 points, nine rebounds and matched her career-high with six blocks for Stanford, which extended its winning streak at Maples Pavilion to 37 games.

Pedersen, who is second in the Pac-10 scoring, had her fourth double-double in five games while helping the Cardinal outrebound the Cougars 58-35. Pedersen showed her athleticism late in the first half when she grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled the length of the court and scored on a layup while being fouled.

Her free throw gave Stanford a 40-16 lead with 2:56 to play and she later added a 17-foot jumper to cap a 22-4 run.

Pohlen and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude were running the offense for the Cardinal when Pohlen went down with 17:26 remaining to play. She had to be carried off the court and spent the rest of the game at the end of Stanford's bench, finishing with five points and three assists.

Gold-Onwude took over, scoring all of her 11 points in the second half while grabbing seven rebounds.

That was also key for Stanford, which hopes to get Hones back in the lineup next week when the team goes on the road to face Oregon State and Oregon.

KiKi Moore scored 14 points to lead Washington State, which has never defeated the Cardinal in 49 games in a series dating to 1983.

Washington State scored the first six points of the second half but got no closer than 20 points the rest of the game.

The Cougars, 0-25 on the road against Stanford, shot 18.4 percent from the field in the first half and went just 4 of 28 from 3-point range while losing their sixth straight.