The freshman center followed her 28-point, 17-rebound performance against Oregon State on Thursday with a near triple-double — 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists — on Saturday. On Monday, Jayne Appel’s career weekend was capped by Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Week honors.

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Conference Player of the Week freshman Jayne Appel scored 46 points this weekend on 55% shooting and notched 28 rebounds, three blocks, four steals and eight assists in the Cardinal’s pair of wins. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/6936
Alvin Chow

Conference Player of the Week freshman Jayne Appel scored 46 points this weekend on 55% shooting and notched 28 rebounds, three blocks, four steals and eight assists in the Cardinal’s pair of wins.

“Jayne’s a big force inside,” head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We go inside to her and she can score against anybody.”

The good news didn’t stop there for an injury-plagued Cardinal. Junior guard Candice Wiggins made a full-force return with 17 points against the Ducks, starting after a brief cameo appearance against the Beavers. Wiggins also had eight rebounds and four assists on Saturday, showing the vitality which will be crucial to Stanford as it nears the postseason.

“You can see this as soon as she comes out of the game — the presence that she has is phenomenal,” VanDerveer said. “When she’s out there, she brings such a calming effect to the team and just a confidence. I think the great ones are the ones that make the other ones around them better, and Candice certainly does that.”

The beginning of the Oregon game was uncomfortably different from the Ducks’ slow start on Jan. 18, when Oregon shot just 19 percent in the first half at Maples Pavilion. This time, the Ducks (who shot a better, but still weak, 31.0 percent from the field in the first period) were in the lead until 12:35, when Appel had the third of many layups for the night to pull the Cardinal ahead 8-6.

Oregon regained the lead just five minutes later on a three-pointer by Eleanor Haring. The senior forward had 19 points for the night, leading the Ducks. Oregon was unable to stay afloat for the rest of the half, though, sinking on 2-of-11 shooting. Oregon watched Stanford go on a 13-2 run for a 27-19 lead. Sophomore forward Jillian Harmon scored seven of her eight total points in the run, which finally ended with Oregon guard Tamika Nurse’s jumper.

With the Cardinal in control 27-21 at halftime, Haring opened the second half with two layups to bring the Ducks within four points. Layups by Wiggins and Appel, as well as a three-pointer from freshman forward Michelle Harrison, put Stanford on course again. Down the stretch, the Cardinal led by as much as 23 points.

“Anytime you can get some consecutive baskets, that kind of spurt gives you a lot of momentum, and then everyone gets confident,” Wiggins said.

A 5-0 run by the Ducks kept the lead from growing further, and Oregon kept within 18 points for the rest of the game. Appel sealed the win with a jumper on an assist by freshman point guard Melanie Murphy (eight points and six assists for the day), finishing her career weekend as the Ducks put up a three-pointer in the final seconds for an 18-point loss.

Stanford had a balanced effort all around, with three players in double digits and six scoring over five points. Nearly matching Appel’s double-double, senior center Brooke Smith had 10 points and nine rebounds.

On the Oregon side, however, Haring received little aide. Carolyn Ganes had nine points, while Jamie Hawkins had eight and two others scored seven. Haring’s 19 points, three rebounds and one assist couldn’t compare to the power of Appel.

For the weekend, Appel had a combined 46 points on 21-of-38 shooting, 28 rebounds and eight assists (including a career-high seven on Saturday).

The performance is a long way from the foul trouble and inconsistency Appel has struggled with recently after breakthrough performances against then-No. 4 Tennessee and then-No. 8 Georgia, on Nov. 24 and 26, respectively. The freshman had 23 points, five rebounds and five blocks against the Lady Vols (in 30 minutes of play), followed by 16 points and nine rebounds against the Lady Bulldogs in just the third and fourth games of her career.

While the freshman celebrates her Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for Feb. 12-18, the Cardinal now returns home for the last games of its regular season. After a Thursday face-off against UCLA, 7:00 p.m. at Maples Pavilion, Stanford has its senior farewell Saturday at noon against Southern California.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.