« Women’s Basketball 2009-10

Jayne Appel

School
Stanford University
Position
Center
Major
Psychology
PPG
13.8
RPG
8.8
APG
2.6

Classroom

Through the end of the 2009-10 academic year, Appel boasted a 3.14 grade point average while working towards a bachelor of science degree in psychology at Stanford University. She is on pace to graduate from Stanford a quarter early in order to pursue a playing career in the WNBA. Off the court, Appel also plans to pursue a career in mental health advocacy and/or psychiatric nursing after she graduates.

Character

As a third-year captain of the Stanford women’s basketball team, Appel has been a key leader in the team’s runs to the past two Women’s Final Fours, including a spot in the 2008 national championship game. Appel has exemplified the role of a leader by taking her younger teammates under her wing and helping them adjust to not only the collegiate game but also to college life and all that comes with it. Appel’s solid work ethic has been demonstrated both on and off the court, as on the hardwood she has adjusted her game to become a center that can run the court in transition on top of her rebounding and scoring talents. Another way Appel has worked extra hard to improve her game is in controlling fouls. As a freshman, she fouled out of four games while being limited to just 19 minnutes per game due to foul trouble. Since that year, Appel has fouled out of just three games over the last two years while averaging nearly 29 minutes per game in 2007-08 and 26.0 per game in 2008-09. Off the court, Appel applied that same desire to rehab and work her way back to action from two knee surgeries and a shoulder surgery within the past year and a half.

Community

Along with members of the Stanford women’s basketball team, Appel has served as a mentor to young girls in the East Side School’s Shoot for the Stars program. She has also served as a pen pal to young elementary students at La Entrada School in Menlo Park, CA. Appel also works on encouraging young girls to lead active lives. With BAWSI (Bay Area Women In Sports Initiative) Appel goes to low-income elementary schools to promote personal health and try to increase girls’ involvement in physical activity. As part of this outreach, Appel, teammates, and BAWSI representatives play games that show the young girls how to be active and also provide tickets to Stanford women’s basketball games so that they can come and watch and be inspired. She is also involved with Team up for Youth, a program that sets up opportunities for young girls to get involved in athletics. Through Pi Phi, the sorority she belongs to, Appel helps with The Princess Project, where Pi Phis go and help girls who can’t afford a dress choose a prom dress that has been donated for the cause. Appel and the Pi Phis guide the girls through the process of choosing a dress, helping them choose a style and size that will make them have an enjoyable night. The project provides the opportunity for these young ladies to have a prom dress and get to enjoy the prom experience. Appel also serves as a CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) training panel member, donating her time speaking as a family representative at the CIT training center in Contra Costa County. The CIT police officers are training for how to deal with those who are in crisis with a mental illness. As a member of the panel, Appel provides insight on having a family member with a mental illness.

Competition

On the court, Appel has already established herself as one of the best players in Stanford women’s basketball history as well as one of the top players in the nation. Entering her senior year at Stanford, Appel is the Cardinal’s all-time career leader in blocks (215) and is second in field-goal percentage (57.9%), third in rebounds (942) and rebounds per game (8.6), and seventh in points scored (1,635). By the end of her career, she could very well become just the third player in Stanford women’s basketball history to reach the 2,000-point/1,000-rebound club, joining Nicole Powell and Val Whiting. On the national level, Appel was named to the State Farm Coaches All-America Team in 2009 and to the All-America second teams of both the Associated Press and espn.com. Jayne was also named one of Glamour’s 2009 Top 10 College Women in September for her accomplishments both on and off the court. Appel also captured Pac-10 Player of the Year honors in 2009 and is a two-time All-Pac-10 first team selection. Appel has been instrumental in helping Stanford to three Pac-10 regular season and tournament titles as well as two trips to the Women’s Final Four. In Jayne’s three years, Stanford has racked up one of the nations top records with a combined mark of 97-14.