Jayne Appel should have taken the day off, Melanie Murphy found herself back on the injured list and junior Ashley Cimino finally got on the court for the first time.

Appel, who tried to play despite having the flu, made it 21 minutes before opting out for the day and finished with a career-low two points on 1-of-5 shooting. She added six rebounds and recorded a team-high three assists during a rather dismal Friday afternoon contest.

Kayla Pedersen, with 995 career points, recorded her second consecutive double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds in leading the second-ranked Stanford women's basketball team to a 60-41 victory over Utah in a nonconference game.

The Cardinal will have to play a little better to get by Gonzaga, which visits Sunday in a 2 p.m. tipoff.

Murphy injured a knee during practice on Wednesday and underwent an MRI that revealed no tear. She will be reevaluated Monday. She joins Hannah Donaghe (knee), Sarah Boothe (foot) and Joslyn Tinkle (stress reaction in left foot) on the wounded list.

Cimino recovered sufficiently from an ankle problem to play a couple of minutes and score a couple of points as Stanford recorded its lowest point production since beating Cal, 58-41, in February. Stanford scored less than 60 points three times last year, twice on the road.

"This was not a game I'm excited about," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "I thought we took too many 3s and we were not being patient. Jayne took two IV bags and we were fortunate to have her out there. She was throwing up last night and I did not expect her to play. It shows you what a competitor she is that she tried to play."

The pace of the first half was roughly equivalent to watching grass slow and just as interesting. Utah went 10 minutes without scoring during one point of the first half, and Stanford managed all of eight points during that span.

A late burst gave Stanford a semi-comfortable, 24-11, lead into the intermission. The Cardinal also held a 47-27 rebounding edge for the contest.

"We knew we were better than that," Pedersen said of a 24-point first half. "We decided to kick it into gear. When things aren't going your way, you have to do the little things and stick with it."

Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 17 points and Jeanette Pohlen added 11 for the Cardinal (5-0), who won their 31st consecutive home game.

"I think some people were getting discouraged because the shots were not falling in the beginning," Ogwumike said. "I was trying to figure what I could do to contribute. Tara inspired us and pushed us in the halftime. She told me to go in there strong and that definitely helped."

Both schools rebounded from cold shooting starts with solid second-half shooting. The Cardinal shot 42 percent and Utah was at 52 percent in the final 20 minutes.

After making one of 10 3-pointers in the second half of Sunday's win at UC Davis, the Cardinal were 2 of 17 in the first half against Utah.

Pedersen entered the game having made 12 of her 23 long-range shots. She went 1-for-8 against the Utes.

"We had a rough day," Pedersen said. "As long as we stay strong and keep encouraging each other, that's the main thing."