Stanford’s weaknesses were on full display as the team won at Arizona State on Sunday afternoon, but so too were the things that make the team great: superb post play, a knack for hitting timely shots and Candice Wiggins.

Once again, Stanford had a ton of trouble from three-point range and the foul line — the Cardinal went 3-for-18 from beyond the arc and 9-for-15 from the stripe. If these deficiencies continue to go without improvement, they may bite Stanford at exactly the wrong time in tournament play this spring.

However, the threes that Stanford did manage to make came at just the right times. J.J. Hones’ shot at the end of the first half, and Wiggins’ at the start of the second, put the Cardinal in position to make its 11-point comeback against the Sun Devils.

The rest of the way, Stanford relied on its posts and Wiggins. Sophomore center Jayne Appel turned in another superb performance for the Cardinal, picking apart Arizona State’s zone defense with her vision and quick passing. Appel had five assists against ASU; were she playing with more reliable outside shooters, she may well have had 10.

Freshman forward Kayla Pedersen was the main beneficiary of Appel’s work yesterday, both deep in the post and at the top of the key. Perhaps in the future, Appel’s skill at getting wide-open looks for the team’s perimeter players will help a few of them catch fire from distance.

Finally, there is Candice Wiggins. What can you say that has not already been said? At times she is simply too much for a defense to handle. The second half was one of those times, as Wiggins sped past, spun off and otherwise abused her defenders on the way to 18 points. In a close game, her four steals at the other end made a critical difference as well.

One other item of note is the second half that sophomore point guard J.J. Hones played. She played almost the entire 20 minutes in place of starter Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, dishing out five assists without a turnover. Hones is not as athletic as Gold-Onwude, but she has been a steadier hand at the point so far this year, with an excellent 4.56 assist-to-turnover ratio. Thirty-three minutes against ASU suggests she is back to full fitness after knee surgery last year. Hones’ contribution will be hugely important for the rest of the year.