Brea’s Williams Does What’s Best for Team : Girls’ regional: Senior center has helped Lady Cats reach Division II semifinal against Carlsbad.

A cautionary word to victims of the Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball team this season: What you’re about to read will probably come as small consolation.

Jinelle Williams, the Lady Cat center who probably lit up your team with one of her double-digit scoring performances, says she doesn’t particularly like to shoot the ball.

“I’ve been scoring a lot of points lately, but I really don’t look for the shot,” Williams said before Wednesday’s practice at Brea. “Sometimes I don’t have a choice because I’m wide open and it’s either shoot it or get yelled at (by Brea’s coaches).”

Her almost apologetic explanation comes as little consolation to opposing teams still licking their wounds. But it’s no cruel joke. Williams said she would be just as happy getting the ball to a teammate or concentrating on defense. But Brea needs her offensive production, so she aims to please.

And a pretty deadly aim it is.

Undersized--at least for the center position--the 5-foot-9 senior leads the team with a 17.1-point average and also pulls down 8.2 rebounds per game.

Williams has been particularly sharp in the playoffs, leading the team in scoring in three of its six games. She had 16 points and 13 rebounds to go with forward Jody Anton’s 18 points and 16 rebounds in Brea’s 50-42 victory over Ventura in the Southern Section Division II-AA title game Saturday.

Those numbers, and what Brea Coach Mark Trakh defines as an unwavering loyalty to the team concept he preaches, have turned Williams into a leader on the court. Her efforts have helped the Lady Cats advance to tonight’s game at home against Carlsbad in the Southern California Regionals Division II semifinals.

“Sometimes she’s just overmatched,” Trakh said. “She has a big heart.”

Besides her determination, Williams also has one of the quickest turnaround jumpers in the county and a great leaping ability that makes her effective on the defensive end even against much taller players. In fact, those defensive struggles are her favorite challenges.

“I’m supposed to just stand there and not try to block shots because I have a habit of doing that and it gets me in foul trouble,” Williams said. “But sometimes it gets frustrating because there’s nothing I can do except go straight up (to maintain her defensive position).”

Those tasks could become somewhat more difficult for Williams tonight because of a hyperextended knee she suffered in Tuesday’s first-round game against Torrance Bishop Montgomery.

But Williams said she has played through similar pain before and she’s not about to let it stand in her way.

“I can feel it. I always feel it,” Williams said. “I’ll just ice it and it’ll be OK. I can rest after the season is over.”

Williams, who is headed for UC Irvine in the fall on a basketball scholarship, hopes that won’t happen until after the state championship game next week in Oakland. She says she believes the Lady Cats can make it to their third consecutive state final, and perhaps even win their second title in that span.

“I think if we play like we did in the CIF (Southern Section) championship game, we’ll be OK,” she said. “But we have to be ready to play all the time and not let anything keep us from being focused.”

And Williams has to be ready to shoot the ball, whether she wants to or not.