Anteaters’ Youth Will Be Tested

The carrot, dangling out there, is still fresh.

The UC Irvine women’s basketball team reached the NCAA tournament in 1995. Last season, the Anteaters finished 12-16. Guess which memory lingers heading into this season?

“It’s pretty good motivation once you’ve been to the tournament,” said junior guard Sabrina Roberson, who was a freshman on that team. “It’s the ultimate level and you want to get back.”

Only dreaming about it, however, won’t get them there.

Roberson and forward Leticia Oseguera are the only players remaining who can speak about the tournament with firsthand knowledge. To relive the experience, they will need help from several inexperienced teammates.

The Anteaters will need four freshmen to blend with a group of returners that includes three starters.

Oseguera, a 5-foot-11 junior forward, was the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 15.5 points last season. Roberson, a 5-8 junior, and Princess Hatcher, a 5-8 sophomore, give the Anteaters experience. Both averaged five points.

For the Anteaters to finish higher than fourth in the Big West Conference’s Western Division--as the conference coaches have predicted--depends on their freshmen.

“We were young last year and we are extremely young this year,” Coach Colleen Matsuhara said. “I think our four freshmen will get a lot of playing time. We’re probably looking at a rebuilding season.”

The material she has to work with isn’t too bad.

Shannon Anders, a 5-8 guard from Grapevine, Texas, was a member of the AAU under-18 national championship team this past summer and will provide perimeter shooting. She made three consecutive three-pointers to rally the Anteaters in an exhibition game against Jiangsu (China) last week.

Megan Stafford, 5-7, will share time with Hatcher at point guard. Stafford was slowed recently by a severely sprained finger but had eight assists against Jiangsu.

Anders and Stafford will be the starting backcourt against St. Mary’s.

Chelsea Mackey, a 6-3 center, and Kirsten Cappel, a 6-2 forward, will give the Anteaters size inside. Both were solid high school post players.

“It’s going to be very important for our upperclassmen to display a lot of leadership on the court,” Matsuhara said. “When we made it to the NCAA tournament, we had great senior leadership. They were bound and determined to make it a breakthrough year.”

Whether the Anteaters have a season to match it remains to be seen. Their horizons, though, have been extended.

Said Matsuhara: “Our goal is not only to get to the Big West Tournament, it’s also to return the NCAA tournament.”