Titans Already Beaten Up Before They’re Beaten : Cal State Fullerton: Top two centers are sick, No. 3 is injured, and youthful team must open season against UCLA.

Fate has been cruel to the Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team, which must open the season Wednesday night at UCLA, of all places.

The Titans, under first-year Coach Deborah Ayres, will limp into Pauley Pavilion. Their starting center, Stacey Oughton, has been weakened by the flu and their backup center, Danielle Bryce, has mononucleosis. Even their third-string center, freshman Joana Ziuraitis, has a sprained ankle.

And there on the UCLA bench will be 6-foot-4 center Kisa Hughes, who was the Big West Conference freshman of the year last season at Fullerton.

Hughes, who averaged 12.5 points, 10.9 rebounds and two blocked shots in 1991-92, could have been the centerpiece of the Titan program for the next three seasons. She showed as much potential last season as former Titan All-American Genia Miller did during her freshman year.

But last spring, while Fullerton was deciding how to fill the vacancy created when Maryalyce Jeremiah went from basketball coach to associate athletic director, Hughes decided to transfer to UCLA, where she is redshirting this season.

“The ironic thing is with Stacey not up to par and Danielle out, it’s really apparent where our void is,” said Ayres, who came to Fullerton from Solano Community College in Suisan, Calif. “It’s almost like we should play UCLA four on five.”

The full- and long-term impact of Hughes’ loss didn’t really sink in until Ayres hit the recruiting trail last summer and saw so few comparable post players.

“It not only hurts us now, it might set us back another couple of years until we can get another good center,” Ayres said. “Had Kisa stayed we would have been competitive in the Big West Conference because we’re strong at the other four positions.”

The Titans may start three seniors, but they’ll still be a relatively young team because only one starter, small forward Heidi James, has extensive experience, and two others, point guard Shayla Bradshaw and power forward Shefonda Colbert, are freshmen.

James, a 5-9 senior, started 17 of 28 games last season, averaging eight points. Oughton, a 6-2 senior who missed most of her sophomore season because of a major knee injury, averaged about eight minutes, and shooting guard Allison Jackson, a 5-5 senior, averaged about five minutes last season.

Ayres said Bradshaw, from Gilbert High in Higley, Ariz., and Colbert, from Lynwood High, have shown much potential in practice, but neither has played a college game.

Fullerton, picked to finish eighth in the conference, has only 11 players, and Ayres will probably use an eight-player rotation. But she hopes the Titans have enough depth to maintain defensive pressure throughout most games.

“We hope to force turnovers and get into a running game,” Ayres said. “Our depth might limit how much we can extend our pressure, but we’ll definitely use a half-court, man-to-man press.”

Ayres hasn’t been able to measure her team very well during the preseason because the Titans haven’t played any exhibition games, but she said they’ve improved in each of their three scrimmages.

“We certainly have a talented freshman class that can set the foundation for the future, and we appreciate the experience the seniors have,” Ayres said. “It’s a nice mix of players, and they’re a very positive group. It should be a fun year.”