The Cardinal will return to Maples Pavilion to kick off its first two-game weekend of 2010 tonight, hosting the Washington State Cougars before facing the other Washington school on Saturday, the UW Huskies. Stanford (13-1, 3-0 Pacific-10) will look to continue its perfect Pac-10 season and maintain its No. 2 national ranking.

This weekend in particular, Stanford is playing with history – both recent and long-term – firmly on its side. The last time the Cardinal hosted the Cougars (5-10, 0-4) and the Huskies (8-6, 3-1), they ran them right off the court. They cruised past the Huskies in a 112-35 rout – the biggest win in conference history – before earning a similarly comfortable 102-53 victory over the Cougars.

Last year, both Washington schools faced the Cardinal with overall records around .500. The Huskies are faring somewhat better so far this year with just one conference loss, while the Cougars – tonight’s opponent – have yet to win in the Pac-10. The Huskies swept the Arizona schools last weekend, while the Cougars got swept themselves.

But regardless of match history and of the opponents’ recent play, head coach Tara VanDerveer is intent on staying focused.

“It really doesn’t matter who you’re playing,” VanDerveer said. “Every game we play in our league gives us challenges. Washington State has quick, penetrating players that we’ll have trouble with if we don’t stop. If you don’t come out with an aggressive mindset – remembering that we’re here at home, this is our court – then yes, you risk losing to a team that might not have a solid record right now. But records and statistics are irrelevant. You have to come out and get the job done.”

Senior captain Jayne Appel, recently named a midseason candidate for the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s Wooden Award, agrees that even a team like the Cougars can’t be taken lightly.

“They’re an interesting team, really,” Appel said. “They have a lot of young players, a lot of sophomores, especially at guard, and while they may not have done well last weekend, we have to understand that we’ve got a target on our back as the number two team in the nation. We need to remember that everyone who we play circles that game on their calendar, and they’re trying to take that away from us.”

Appel has been a major contributor during her time on the Farm, earning her way to the Pac-10 Player of the Year Award last season and essentially becoming the face of the team since the departure of Candice Wiggins. So far in 2009-10, however, the Pleasant Hill, Calif. native hasn’t had many of the lights-out performances that have characterized her career. She currently is third on the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game (and most of the conference season left to play), whereas she led the Cardinal last season with an overall 16.1 ppg – more than five points better than the second-place Kayla Pederson.

“I don’t really think I’m at the standard that I set for myself,” Appel said. “I’ve had a few games so far that I’ve played well, but I definitely haven’t had a great game. But right now we’ve got Nneka and Kayla and other players who are playing out of this world, so I’m trying to get them the ball if that’s what get’s us a W. I think that’s part of being a captain, learning how to get them the ball if that’s who’s hot.”

One player Appel will look to support offensively this weekend is guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude. The redshirt senior, long praised by her coach and teammates for her pesky defense on the perimeter, has lately been just as impressive with her offense. She had a career-high 18 points in the Cardinal’s win over UCLA last weekend, including four three-pointers, and combined with Nnemkadi Ogwumike to go 6-for-6 as the Bruins nearly closed the gap in the second half.

“I think Ros can contribute more offensively now, after putting in a lot of work on her shot over the summer,” VanDerveer said. “She’s been shooting the ball really well in practice, and I’ve been saying ‘Ros, you need to be looking for your shot more.’ So she’s been working hard in practice and playing with a lot of confidence.”

So far this season, the Cardinal has rarely had the luxury of playing for a full crowd of fans. This weekend, though, the Cardinal will play its first traditional series at Maples Pavilion while students are on campus.

“You know, it’s been really tough this season because so many of our games – whether it’s Cal, Tennessee, or Duke – have been over break, and it means a lot for the team to have the enthusiasm that the students bring,” VanDerveer said. So I hope a lot of them will come this weekend and get their chance to see our young players, and how much Nneka and our freshmen have improved. I think it will be fun for them.”

The Cardinal will host the Cougars tonight at 7 p.m., and the Huskies on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games will be in Maples Pavilion and will be broadcast live on 90.1 FM KZSU.