FORGOTTEN; UCLA'S MARTIN IS UNKNOWN STAR.

Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer

As evening descended in Chetumal, Mexico, so did the mosquitoes. You could literally hear them coming, a droning, airborne invasion force that sent the American women basketball players scrambling for the spray can of ``Off'' they kept beneath their bench.

But not a single spectator in this coastal community near the Belize border was driven off. The entertainment was simply too compelling.

Near Toulouse, France, the van full of players would roll into a village that barely seemed big enough to field a three-on-three game, but somehow, every last seat in the local gym was filled when the teams took the floor.

And in Natal, Brazil, though the Brazilian team had been eliminated in the previous round, the cavernous arena was filled, even for a final that featured the hated Australians against the even-more-hated Americans.

For UCLA's Maylana Martin, this is the stuff of dreams for what women's basketball could be in this country, and certainly in this city.

You probably haven't heard of her, or the Bruins women. She's one of the top collegiate forwards in the country. They're ranked sixth nationally as they prepare to open their season Saturday at Notre Dame.

Martin, a junior from Riverside County, would like to lift the curtain on UCLA women's basketball; literally - that big blue one that hides the retractable bleachers so Pauley Pavilion won't look so empty when the women play.

By contrast, in Brazil, where she played two summers ago as a member of the U.S. junior national team, ``it was ridiculous,'' Martin said, her eyes lighting up at the memory. ``They had a soccer game going on at the same time as one of our basketball games, and the arena was still full. And it was huge.

``It wasn't seats, just concrete (benches). And they would pack in there. It was the greatest thing. They booed us. Imagine 20,000 people booing you. It just gives you that energy.''

For women's basketball in the U.S., lethargy stands in for energy for the most part. At one point last February, UCLA had won seven of its previous eight games en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance. This created such a groundswell of fan excitement that 770 turned out for a game at Pauley against Oregon.

``At UCLA, my goodness, just going outside is a choice, it's so pretty,'' said Carol Callan, assistant executive director for USA Basketball in Colorado Springs, Colo. ``They've always had great basketball at UCLA, but I think it probably even attracts a different kind of player, where that (fan adulation) isn't as important to them.''

Martin is certainly that type of player. Resilient. Easygoing. Unfailingly hopeful about the future of women's basketball here.

She sees increased interest with the advent of pro leagues for women. She sees vigorous crowds at some programs in the Deep South and in the East.

``It's a purist's game,'' Martin said. ``John Wooden said it. I've heard a lot of other people say it, that if you really want to watch good basketball, you watch the better women's teams. If you want to watch dunks and good athletes and be entertained, then watch the men's game.

``But we're getting more athletic and we're getting more entertaining. . . . We're a top-10 team in every poll. A lot of people might start to realize that and say, `Well, maybe we don't want to go see that movie tonight. Maybe we'll spend $5 and see a women's basketball game.' Once they come, I think they'll get to know us and want to come again.''

They might learn that Martin was named a preseason Naismith Player of the Year candidate by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, and she is only the third women's player in UCLA history to top 1,000 points in scoring in her first two seasons.

The 6-foot-3 Martin, also considered one of the more tenacious rebounders in the game, is the cornerstone of a well-stocked Bruins team that also features point guard Erica Gomez and two other returning starters from last year's 20-9 team.

If UCLA continues to be a well-kept secret, it probably won't have an adverse effect on Martin's play. Nor is it likely to be a source of bitterness.

This is the original trouper, according to those who have worked with her, someone who will shake off searing back pain and continue jostling in the low post, as she did through much of last season.

``Nothing fazes her,'' said Callan, who was head of delegation for the U.S. junior national team on its world tour in 1997. The players encountered Spartan living conditions in Slovakia, hostile crowds in Brazil, debilitating humidity (and the mosquito onslaughts) on Mexico's Caribbean coast.

``Most of the time internationally, you have to be a different breed of player to thrive in that setting,'' Callan said. ``The thing about Maylana, she is very adventurous. As I understand it, her family is.''

Well, you might say that. Maylana was born in Hawaii while her father, Lowell, worked as a landscape architect for the Navy. Two years later, it was on to San Diego. Then, when Maylana was in the third grade, to Winchester, a community tucked between Perris and Hemet.

But the construction of their house wasn't finished yet. So for four months the family lived without creature comforts in a 21-foot mobile home and a tent trailer.

``All of our relatives thought we were absolutely out of our minds,'' said Lowell.

Offered Mary Martin, Maylana's mother: ``We didn't have electricity. No (running) water - just a tank that we got gravity feed from. Our entertainment was two puppies. We did the pioneer thing. Life was awful. But you kind of roll with it.''

Maylana has learned to sample diverse things in life, and, Mary said with evident pride, ``She does not whine.''

Actually, Maylana Martin enthuses. She speaks optimistically about the prospects for greater support of women's basketball here. She is particularly encouraged when she is approached after games by young girls seeking autographs or a picture.

``When I was little,'' Martin says, ``I would joke around and say I wanted to play professional, and people would say, `Yeah, you're going to be the first woman in the NBA.' I would laugh it off. I knew I would go to college and then just have a regular job.

``But now, with the women's (pro) leagues, it's neat for me as a college player, and I think it's great for the young girls. Because when the boys say, `I'm going to be in the NFL or NBA,' they can say, `Well, I'm going to be in the WNBA.' It gives them something to work for and look forward to.''

And, perhaps in time, something to come out and watch.

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PHOTO (Color) Maylana Martin has played before big crowds all over - but not at UCLA.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News