Anteaters Looking for Postseason Redemption
Simplicity is the answer as far as the UC Irvine women’s basketball team is concerned.
After a disappointing regular season, the Anteaters lumber into the Big West Conference tournament, where they seek happiness in easy-to-understand terms.
“All we have to do is win,” said guard Shannon Anders, a team captain. “At this point, that’s all that matters. We can’t go in thinking if we win one, the season has been OK. Even if we play well, if we lose, it doesn’t make things better.”
The Anteaters open against North Texas Wednesday in Reno. It’s a possible first step in a cleansing, or perhaps a last gasp in a season that could have been better.
Irvine was coming off back-to-back 16-victory seasons, and in 1996-97, had reached the conference tournament final. So there was no way they could see this meltdown coming. They finished 11-15 and fourth in the Western Division.
But a conference tournament can be a safety net.
“If we play poorly and win, it’s a win,” Anders said.
Recently, however, the Anteaters have lived up to only half that--playing poorly.
They have won only four of 11 games since Jan. 17--two against Cal State Fullerton and two against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The Titans and Mustangs were the only teams to finish below UCI in the Western Division.
“There is not even a question that we’re better than our record,” junior point guard Megan Stafford said. “We’ve been losing to Long Beach State and Pacific. We should be beating those teams, but we aren’t.”
Nothing has gone right, starting in November, when Stafford and center Chelsea Mackey, the Anteaters’ best players, were suspended for violating team rules before the season began. Stafford missed the first four games and Mackey, a 6-foot-3 junior, missed two.
It was a big reason the Anteaters got off to a 1-3 start. The two have been the team’s leading scorers since, but the damage had been done.
“I think it was a while before the team got over the turmoil that started the season,” Coach Mark Adams said. “My wife is still bringing up things I did 10 years ago. It’s not to stereotype women, but they take things to heart more than guys do. It has bothered this team from the outset.”
There were other potholes, some that were unavoidable.
Forward Leticia Oseguera and guard Sabrina Roberson graduated, taking away the soul of the team. Oseguera is the school’s second all-time leading scorer. Roberson was just plain vicious as a defender.
“I didn’t realize how much we missed Sabrina until I looked at the game tapes from last year,” Adams said. “She could harass a point guard like nobody’s business. That’s not taking away anything from our players now. Sabrina will probably be the best ever in the Big West.”
Injuries sidelined Krissy Duperron (knee) and Char-Pei Chen (back). That left freshmen Brandy Hudson and walk-on Cindy Oparah as the inside strength off the bench.
Both have shown ability. Hudson had 15 points and 10 rebounds against New Mexico State. Oparah had 19 points against Ohio. But their low moments have been as eye-opening.
“The hardest thing about college basketball is the mental part,” said Hudson, who is 6-1. “You need to be stronger. But you also have to use your brain a lot more. In high school, you just went out and played. Here, you have to think.”
Two other freshmen, Megan Nugent and Missy Craine--each a 5-foot-11 forward--were expected to give the small forward spot some size. Neither are with the team. Nugent suffered through knee and shoulder injuries and quit in early January. Craine showed up out of shape and walked away two weeks after Nugent.
It forced the Anteaters into a three-guard lineup and they have been consistently outrebounded. It also hurt their depth. Against Pacific on Feb. 21, both teams used five players off the bench for the same number of minutes. Irvine got seven points, the Tigers 20. Pacific won, 66-60.
“It has been rough on Megan and Chelsea and the others, because they have had to play a lot of minutes,” Adams said.
