SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Time Has Healed Her Wounds : Girls’ basketball: Brea-Olinda’s Blackburn bounced back after surgeries. Finding her confidence again took a while, however.

After two seasons of worry and doubt, Tammy Blackburn decided enough was enough.

In January, 1987, the Brea-Olinda guard underwent surgery to correct a curvature of her spine. Another operation followed in April to fix a chronic dislocation in her left shoulder. As a result, she was forced to sit out her freshman season.

Even though Blackburn recovered from her operations and started on the basketball team as a sophomore, she struggled to overcome the mental side effects.

“It’s just amazing the time it took,” said Blackburn, now a senior. “The process of getting the confidence back was really hard. It took a lot of time.”

Entering this season, though, Blackburn decided it was time “to play like I can.”

Her resurgence couldn’t have come at a better time for the defending 3-A and state champion Wildcats, who face Palos Verdes in the Southern Section 3-AA championship game at 8:30 tonight at Cal Poly Pomona.

“I can get up after I fall down and be OK, and run up and down the court for 32 minutes,” said Blackburn, who is averaging 14.9 points and 3.4 assists this season. “It’s so fun to go out there and play and be loose. I’m playing my best ball of the last three years.”

Blackburn joins point guard Aimee McDaniel, the state Division III player of the year last season and the team’s top scorer (16.4 points), to give Brea-Olinda a formidable backcourt.

To opponents, they’re trouble. To Brea-Olinda Coach Mark Trakh, they’re “Fire and Ice.”

“Aimee is ice, she’s got the poker face,” Trakh said. “Tammy has a lot of passion. You can see the fire burning in her face.”

Such passion made Blackburn’s season spent off the court that much more difficult. She went to all of the games and kept statistics. But those activities could hardly compare with making a jump shot or defending the opposing team’s best guard, as she does now.

“I wanted to play so bad--varsity, junior varsity, whatever,” said Blackburn, who will play at San Diego State in the fall. “It was a tough time.”

Trakh, who saw unlimited potential in Blackburn when she was in junior high, shared the feeling. He called Blackburn a “superstar” and the best eighth-grade player he’d ever seen--a high compliment considering McDaniel and Blackburn played together at Brea Junior High.

“(Blackburn) is one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached,” Trakh said. “She’s quick, fast, has a good vertical leap. She’s a tenacious defender.”

While Blackburn was sitting out her freshman season, McDaniel was playing, improving and excelling. When Blackburn returned, McDaniel was the standout.

The way Blackburn accepted being No. 2 illustrates why she is a successful player, Trakh said.

“Tammy was always at the center of attention, the star,” he said. “Then she gets surgery, comes back as a sophomore and Aimee McDaniel has learned to play the game. Not only was Tammy not a superstar, she was no longer the best player on the team. She’s shown a lot of maturity to accept the role given to her.”

Blackburn said she not only accepts the role, she enjoys it.

“Working with Aimee is a great privilege,” Blackburn said. “A lot of people hear about Aimee and that’s OK. It didn’t cause any problems to where I was jealous of Aimee. On this team, the whole team is the star.”

BREA-OLINDA vs. PALOS VERDES

RECORDS--Brea Olinda 29-0, Palos Verdes 27-4

SITE--Cal Poly Pomona, 8:30 p.m.

BREA-OLINDA UPDATE--This season’s team is the most dominant in Brea-Olinda’s history, and that’s saying a lot, especially considering that last season’s team won the Southern Section 3-A and state Division III championships. This year’s team is on a 51-game victory streak, second in Southern Section history to Riverside Poly’s 84-game string.

Brea-Olinda is ranked fifth nationally by USA Today and has trounced three playoff opponents by an average of 30 points. Top-seeded Brea has the best backcourt in the state. State player of the year Aimee McDaniel (16.4 points a game, 5.4 assists) and all-state guard Tammy Blackburn (14.9 points) return for their senior seasons. Two other starters average in double figures: Jinelle Williams (15.5 points) and Jody Anton (11.1 points).

PALOS VERDES UPDATE--The Sea Kings return eight players and three starters from last season’s team that was upset by Katella in the 4-A semifinals. Heather and Heide Burge, 6-4 twins, are at the University of Virginia, but guard Lisa Humphreys (15.4 points, 4.9 assists) remains to lead a team with scoring balance, maturity and something to prove. “They have a little extra motivation,” Coach Wendell Yoshida said. “They want to prove the team was more than just the twins last year and they want to erase the upset in the semifinal.”

KEY TO THE GAME--Palos Verdes’ front line will be the biggest that Brea-Olinda will face this season. It could present problems for the shorter Lady Cats, who play man-to-man defense almost exclusively. But Brea-Olinda is quicker and its pressing and fast-breaking style will give Palos Verdes trouble. Brea-Olinda must get its running game going and get some perimeter shooting from Anton, McDaniel and Blackburn. Palos Verdes needs to turn the contest into a half-court game, slow the tempo and control the boards.

CONSENSUS--Brea-Olinda has negated many a team’s height advantage with consistent rebounding. Plus, the Lady Cats just have too many weapons. As long as neither McDaniel nor Blackburn foul out, Brea-Olinda is a shoe-in. Brea-Olinda beat Palos Verdes three times last summer.

3-AA GIRLS’ CHAMPIONSHIP GAME LINEUPS

BREA-OLINDA (29-0) PALOS VERDES (27-4) Name Hgt. Yr. PPG Pos. Name Hgt. Yr. Jody Anton 5-11 So. 11.1 F Mary Maloney 6-0 Sr. Allison Bickell 6-0 Sr. 7.8 F Kristen Jaconi 6-0 Sr. Jinelle Williams 5-9 Jr. 15.5 C Monique Morehouse 6-3 So. Aimee McDaniel 5-6 Sr. 16.4 G Susan Wilhite 5-6 Sr. Tammy Blackburn 5-8 Sr. 14.9 G Lisa Humphreys 5-10 Sr. Coach Mark Trakh Coach Wendell Yoshida

BREA-O Name PPG Jody Anton 10.0 Allison Bickell 6.8 Jinelle Williams 11.4 Aimee McDaniel 10.2 Tammy Blackburn 15.4 Coach Mark Trakh