ANTEATER DIGEST / ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Megan Stafford

Women’s Basketball

It was not the first big game Megan Stafford has had, but it came at a time when the Anteaters were desperate for a victory.

Stafford had 27 points, six assists and five rebounds to lead Irvine to a 69-67 victory over Stephen F. Austin Saturday. She had a three-point play with 20 seconds left to erase a one-point deficit.

“Megan does stuff like that all the time,” forward Chelsea Mackey said. “It’s not surprising.”

THIS WEEK

Men’s basketball: Irvine might be starting three freshmen by the time Big West Conference play starts. The Anteaters already use freshmen Jerry Green and Zamiro Bennem in the backcourt--and freshman guard Gabe Cagwin off the bench--but the way UCI centers have played, freshman Mark Gottschalk could join the first unit soon. Senior Matt Willard starts at center and sophomore Stan Divranos--out with a back injury--has played some. Neither has shown signs of developing a presence in the middle. That leaves the 6-foot-10 Gottschalk, who has been slowed by a calf injury that forced him to miss two games. Irvine hosts James Madison at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Women’s basketball: The Anteaters look to follow up their victory over national power Stephen F. Austin. They play Arizona State at 7 p.m. Friday in the Bren Center, then face Arkansas State in the first round of the Pepperdine tournament at 3 p.m. Sunday. The final is 7 p.m. Monday. “We can do better than we’ve been doing so far,” Mackey said. “We can beat a lot of teams. Hopefully, we start doing that now.”

HOW TO REACH US

Lon Eubanks covers Cal State Fullerton for The Times Orange County, and can be reached at (714) 966-5780, or by e-mail at lon.eubanks@latimes.com. Chris Foster covers UC Irvine, and can be reached at (714) 966-7834, or by e-mail at chris.foster@latimes.com.