UC IRVINE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Matsuhara Seeks to Build on Successful Season

Colleen Matsuhara recently received a congratulatory letter and a pin commemorating her 10 years of service at UC Irvine.

Actually, it only seemed that long, at least until last March, when her four years of suffering as the women’s basketball coach ended as the Anteaters won the Big West tournament and made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

So they got thrashed by fourth-ranked Stanford, 88-55. Who cared? Not Matsuhara, the Big West coach of the year. When you begin a season with a three-year record of 12-69, a 19-victory season and a ticket to the Big Dance are beyond the stuff of dreams.

The Anteaters’ ascent to competitiveness last season included a victory over Long Beach State, which snapped a 22-game losing streak against the 49ers, and victories over Hawaii, UNLV, University of the Pacific and UC Santa Barbara, all teams to whom they had lost at least 11 consecutive times. They were third in the Big West, the highest finish in a decade--and back then there were only five teams in the league--and they won one more games than they had in the past five seasons combined .

“Our three seniors this year are my first recruiting class, so they have a special meaning for me,” Matsuhara said. “I was sitting in my office with [Allah-mi Basheer, Tamera Thomas and Fatima Warren] and we were talking about what we had been through in the past and then what we enjoyed last year.

“We decided we liked last year better.”

The conference coaches picked the Anteaters to finish fourth this year, which is a huge jump in respectability, but they have higher aspirations.

“We have tasted success and we’re hungry for more,” Basheer said. “The goal of this team is to get back to the NCAAs and I’d love to win a first-round game, at least.”

High hopes? Clearly. Unrealistic expectations? Probably. Irvine loses three senior starters and much of its on- and off-the-court leadership. Leading the way this season will be Basheer and Thomas, who have to help six freshmen adapt to the Anteaters’ style and the college game.

Basheer, a 6-2 center who led the team in scoring (15.6 points per game) and rebounding (7.9) and was the Big West tournament’s Most Valuable Player, is only the second Anteater ever to be a first-team all-conference selection. Matsuhara believes Basheer should be a candidate for Big West player of the year this time around.

Thomas led the team in three-pointers and steals last season, but the 5-2 point guard has had problems staying out Matsuhara’s doghouse over the years and will have to mature in a hurry to be a role model.

Leticia Oseguera, a 5-11 sophomore who averaged six points and four rebounds last season, will start at one forward spot and Sabrina Roberson, a 5-8 sophomore who averaged 19 minutes per game last season, will probably start at the other.

Davette Williams, a junior who averaged eight points in 1993-94 but broke her wrist and was a redshirt last season, is battling for the fifth starting spot with freshman Princess Hatcher, an all-league pick who averaged 10 points and four assists at Diamond Bar High last season.

Adding depth off the bench will be Warren, who played sparingly last year after returning from knee surgery; freshman Char-pei Chen (6-0), an all-state post player who averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds at Oklahoma’s Ponca City High, and Nikole Payton, the Metro League player of the year at San Diego Montgomery High, where she averaged 18 points.

“Success has given the program a boost and our players a sense of pride and confidence,” Matsuhara said. “But we aren’t satisfied with last year.”