Titans Hope to Surprise Once Again : Women’s college basketball: Cal State Fullerton, coming off its best season in 14 years, opens tonight against Gonzaga.

Geez, lose one All-American center and your program might as well fall off the face of the earth. That’s how Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball Coach Maryalyce Jeremiah feels these days.

Life after Genia Miller begins for the Titans tonight with Fullerton playing host to Gonzaga in the Titan Gatorade Classic. And it begins with very little fanfare for a team coming off its best season in 14 years.

Women’s Basketball Yearbook, which rated Fullerton 21st in last season’s final national rankings, doesn’t even have the Titans in the top 100 this preseason. But Jeremiah expects more from her team, which went 25-8 last season and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Because we lost Genia Miller, we’re not even being looked at,” Jeremiah said. “But we’ll be better than people think. That doesn’t mean we’ll win 18, 20 games, but. . . . “

But they won’t lose 18 or 20, either. Fullerton returns a solid nucleus of three starters: forward Claudette Jackson and guards Joey Ray and Cheryl Hightower.

Freshman point guard Lianne Ishikawa appears to be a capable replacement for feisty Michelle Hennessey, who could not return for her senior year because of foot injuries.

And if Jeremiah’s center-by-committee plan works, the Titans could possibly contend for the Big West Conference championship. Of course, that’s a big “if.”

Stacey Oughton, a 6-foot-2 junior who missed most of last season because of a knee injury, and Kisa Hughes, a 6-4 freshman from Riverside J.W. North High School, will share the center position.

Combined, they would have a hard time matching Miller’s statistics from last season: 29.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.4 blocked shots per game. But that’s how Jeremiah will assess the center spot, as a tag-team position.

She isn’t looking for outstanding production from either one, but if they can combine to score and rebound in double figures and not commit more than 10 fouls per game, the Titans should be competitive.

“Neither one is a Genia Miller, but we’ll never have another Genia Miller,” Jeremiah said. “Both Stacey and Kisa are above-average offensive players, but they’re not as good on defense. If we go up against a big-time center, we’re going to be overworked in that position.”

The Titans shouldn’t be overworked at the forward and guard positions. Jackson was an all-conference, first-team selection last season, when she averaged 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds. She has a nice medium-range jumper, can muscle her way inside for baskets and is a tenacious rebounder.

“She’ll be our go-to player,” Jeremiah said.

Ray, a senior, is a streaky outside shooter who made 49 of 126 three-point attempts last season. Hightower, a sophomore, is a good shooter who can also score off the drive. Both are solid defensive players.

Returning junior Heidi James and junior transfer Allison Jackson, the team’s quickest player, will provide more depth in Fullerton’s three-guard offense.

“We don’t have the firepower we had last year, but we’ll be better from the outside,” Jeremiah said. “We have six guards who will play.”

The key in the backcourt will be Ishikawa, the 5-3 point guard from Buena High in Ventura. Hennessey didn’t score that much for Fullerton last season, but she averaged 6.2 assists and 2.5 steals, was a solid ballhandler, an aggressive defender and an inspirational leader.

But Jeremiah believes Ishikawa can bring many of those traits to the Titans.

“She has really stepped up and taken the leadership role more than we thought she would,” Jeremiah said. “She runs the floor well, sees the court well, passes off the break well and can shoot. She won’t be a major scorer, but she’s a good free-throw shooter and quick defender. We won’t lose as much in that position as I thought we would.”

Cal State Fullerton Roster

No. Player Pos Yr Hgt 2 Marissa Frial PG Fr. 5-3 4 Cheryl Hightower G So. 5-7 10 Anna Abramova F Fr. 6-1 14 Allison Jackson G Jr. 5-5 21 Aggie Garcia F Jr. 6-0 22 Joey Ray G Sr. 5-7 23 Lianne Ishikawa PG Fr. 5-3 24 Danielle Bryce F Fr. 6-1 25 Claudette Jackson F Sr. 5-11 31 Stacey Oughton F Jr. 6-2 34 Heidi James G Jr. 5-8 42 Kelly McClanahan F So. 6-2 44 Kisa Hughes C Fr. 6-4

Coach: Maryalyce Jeremiah.