If there was any doubt in your mind about Candice Wiggins’ hamstring recovery, dispel it now.

Wiggins led the No. 7 Stanford women’s basketball team to a 67-52 rout of fifth-seeded Southern California last night at the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament Sunday at HP Pavilion.

The junior guard, who left the game at 8:26 to a standing ovation, scored 29 points. In nine attempts, she registered eight three-pointers, breaking the conference tournament record of six set in 2004. With the performance, Wiggins also moves to fifth on Stanford’s three-pointers list with 199 for her career.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer sang her praises after the game.

“Having played USC, we knew that it was going to be a really tough match-up for us,” VanDerveer said. “They came out and battled, but it was just too much Candice. She was feeling it, knocking down threes, opening things up for a lot of people. I just think she’s fabulous.”

Wiggins agreed that it was a lucky night for her shooting.

“I’ve never shot like this,” she said. “It was one of those games where you just feel like you’re in rhythm. I was just really trying to open things up since they were in a zone. Last [week] I was able to watch USC and could see how we really needed perimeter shooting.”

Wiggins was not, however, the Card’s only shining star. Senior forward Kristen Newlin tied the tournament’s single-game record with five blocked shots. Newlin also led the team with 10 rebounds and followed only Wiggins in scoring with 10 points.

“I just wanted to provide a defensive spark for the team,” Newlin said. “I don’t know if it was my best game or not, but it was just a super-big win.”

VanDerveer complimented the post players for running the floor well and opening up opportunities.

“I encouraged our team to run the floor, and try to get their ‘bigs’ tired,” VanDerveer said. “[I thought Brooke Smith and Newlin] ran really well, and I think that maybe that just got [USC] a little tired. I could see that they didn’t have the same spring at the end of the game that they had at the beginning.”

That tiredness must have come early for the Trojans. After leading for the first five minutes of the game, USC allowed an 11-0 run by Stanford to put the Cardinal up 19-3, and the Women of Troy were never able to recover. By halftime, Stanford led by 33-24, thanks mostly to Wiggins’ 18 points and the frontcourt’s 14 defensive rebounds.

Seniors Shay Murphy (16 points, seven rebounds) and Chloe Kerr (14 points, seven boards) led USC. The Women of Troy were able to out-rebound the Cardinal, 41-39, though this may have been partially due to the minimal appearance by Stanford’s freshman center Jayne Appel, who fouled out in only nine minutes of play. Given Appel’s foul trouble, Smith and freshman forward Michelle Harrison both helped to establish post presence, notching eight points each.

Stanford’s largest lead of 25 came with 8:26 remaining in the second half. Though the Cardinal did not score for the last 4:22, the Trojans’ nine points during the period were not enough to close the gap.

Stanford will now meet second-seeded No. 9 Arizona State in Monday’s tournament final, 7:30 p.m. in San Jose. The team knows that the Sun Devils’ staunch defense will likely not allow for the scoring opportunities seen against USC.

“They’re going to climb all over us, and they’re looking forward to it,” VanDerveer said. “We’ve taken them twice, and this is a third one, they’re going to be super aggressive, and they’re going to work to beat up all over us the whole game. Whoever has the ball, they will be defending it as aggressively as they can.”

After an overtime loss to UCLA in last year’s tournament championship, Stanford will come hungry to reclaim the title.

“I think this is the benefit of the [Pac-10] Tournament: It gets us ready for the NCAA’s,” VanDerveer said. “[Only] one team is going to walk out Pac-10 Tournament Champions. We experienced this last year when we were in [the championship] game, and it’s upsetting to us that we didn’t get it. We’re going to work really hard to get it tomorrow.”

Wiggins returns in 65-55 win over Arizona

After two weeks on the bench, Wiggins was set free on ninth-seeded Arizona on Saturday night, opening up the Cardinal offense in its first game at HP Pavilion. Stanford sent the Wildcats home in a 65-55 quarterfinal win.

Wiggins sat out for the last two regular-season games, and with VanDerveer’s warnings that she wouldn’t see action this weekend unless necessary, it was a surprise when the junior guard came off the bench for the starting lineup.

Hands in the air, Wiggins was embraced by 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,” she said, “and you just have a new appreciation for the game.”

Although a slow-tempo game, one which VanDerveer called “not that strenuous,” Wiggins made her presence 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,” said Jillian Harmon, “there’s less to worry about.”

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.

The Wildcats took the first lead of the game on a three-pointer from Joy Hollingsworth (14 points, six 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.

“We wanted to open things up offensively,” VanDerveer said. “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. Appel was a major target for the Wildcats’ defense, and was swarmed when in possession at one point early in the game. Appel then 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 (who had a 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, in the half, 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.”