After two weeks on the bench, Candice Wiggins was set free on ninth-seeded Arizona last night, opening up the Cardinal offense in its first game at HP Pavilion. The No. 7 Stanford women’s basketball team sent the Wildcats home after a 65-55 quarterfinal win in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament.

After sitting out for the last two regular-season games, and VanDerveer’s warnings that Wiggins wouldn’t see action this weekend unless necessary, the junior guard came off the bench for the starting lineup.

Hands in the air, Wiggins embraced the loudest cheers yet from the Stanford crowd.

“Anyone who’s been injured for a long time knows that when you get back on the court it’s really exciting, and you just have a new appreciation for the game,” she said.

Although a slow-tempo game, one which head coach Tara VanDerveer called “not that strenuous,” Wiggins made her present felt, scoring four three-pointers - two in each half - that keyed major Cardinal runs. She had 16 points on the night.

“With Candice out there, there’s less to worry about,” said Jillian Harmon.

The sophomore guard also helped Stanford bring back its perimeter offense after two weeks of relying on shots in the paint, scoring 11 points (including two threes), along with five assists, against Arizona.

The Wildcats took the first lead of the game on a three-pointer from Joy Hollingsworth (14 points, 6 rebounds), but Wiggins soon made her first layup in two weeks, and with a three-pointer from Harmon at 16:45 in the half, the Cardinal claimed its lead for the rest of the game.

The lead-taking three began a three-minute span in which Stanford held Arizona scoreless. In that time, Wiggins powered an 8-0 run on two of her signature three-point shots, giving the Cardinal a 13-5 lead. And in the next four minutes, the Wildcats could only muster four points as Harmon went on her own run with two layups and a three.

“There were two things we wanted to do,” head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “One of them was to take care of the ball; last night they forced 29 turnovers, and I think we did a pretty good job of taking care of the ball. And, we wanted to open things up offensively. It was great to see Jill had that perimeter shot, and obviously, Candice is a fabulous perimeter shooter for us.”

Going to the outside was important for the Cardinal, which saw its top post players struggle in the paint during the first half. Freshman center Jayne Appel was a major target for the Wildcats’ defense, and was swarmed when in possession at one point early in the game. Appel passed to Harmon for her second three of the night, as the Cardinal extended its lead, 18-7.

From there, the teams traded shots back and forth, but in the last four minutes Arizona went on a surprising 9-0 run, catching up with Stanford and closing the half down by just two, 30-28.

At the start of the second period, the Wildcats tied on a layup from Hollingsworth, but Smith countered with her signature hook shot to pull the Cardinal ahead. By 15:49 in the half, Stanford had a regained a five-point lead, and though Arizona junior Ashley Whisonant (team-high 18 points) was able to bring it back within three soon after, Wiggins knocked down two straight three-pointers to regain the Cardinal momentum.

From there, though, much of the Stanford offense moved inside as the Arizona defense could no longer handle Appel and Smith. The duo had 13 points and five points, respectively, as the Cardinal left the Wildcats behind on a 12-4 run, never coming within less than seven points for the rest of the night.

Appel had 18 total points and 13 rebounds for her first postseason double-double. Although Appel was modest about her performance, saying she “could do a little better,” the Wildcats understood why she was recently named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year.

“Second half, their size took over, and Appel was amazing,” Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini said. “She finishes, she dominates.”

But VanDerveer said the team has more up its sleeve than Wiggins and Appel. Having contributions coming from all around yesterday, VanDerveer said its was an “overall very good team effort, and we didn’t show everything we’ve got.”

After adjusting last night to the new venue, VanDerveer said, the team is ready to continue its attempt to reclaim the Pac-10 Tournament title.

“We’re going all out [tonight], and I think people will be ready to go,” she added.

Stanford faces fourth-seeded Southern California in the tournament semifinal at 4:30 p.m. today.