Anton Gets Her Wish: a Return Trip to Oakland : Division II girls: Brea-Olinda, in its third consecutive State title game, hopes to erase memories of last year’s loss.

The memory remains firmly stamped in Jody Anton’s mind.

“I never said this to anyone before, but I felt that if I ever got back to Oakland, I never wanted to experience that feeling again,” Anton said.

Anton, the 5-foot-11 junior forward for the Brea-Olinda High School girls’ basketball team, was talking about the team’s 54-43 loss to Auburn Placer in the Division III State championship game last March in the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The defeat shook Anton and her teammates. The Ladycats, who had won their first State title the previous year with Anton as a starting forward, went into the Placer game with a 33-0 record. For a team unaccustomed to losing, the outcome was hard to take.

On Saturday, Anton will have a chance to erase those memories when Brea (32-1) returns to Oakland to play Hayward Moreau (30-2) for the Division II State title. It will be the third consecutive appearance in a championship game for Anton and the Ladycats. But Anton, a Street & Smith Magazine preseason All-American, carries new responsibilities this time.

“This season I think I’m more of a leader along with (center) Jinelle (Williams). The past two seasons Aimee (McDaniel) and Tammy (Blackburn) were the leaders,” Anton said about the two former all-county players. “There’s pressure, but I think I play better under pressure.”

That has been the contention of Brea Coach Mark Trakh all year. And he points to Anton’s performances in crucial games to back his claim. The evidence is convincing.

There were, for instance, the 20 points in a 73-52 victory over Edison in the final of the Irvine Tournament in December; the 21 points in a 68-59 victory over Riverside North in the Southern Section Division II-AA semifinals, and the 18 points and 16 rebounds in a 50-42 victory over Ventura in the section final.

And last Saturday, in the Southern California Regional title game against the same Ventura squad at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, Anton scored 10 points and had 10 rebounds even though she played point guard--an unfamiliar position for her--almost an entire quarter because Nicole Erickson got into foul trouble.

“I was somewhat comfortable (with the switch), but also nervous and cautious,” Anton said. “My main priority was taking care of the ball. I was focused on breaking the press and keeping the ball.”

She did remarkably well, turning over the ball only once. It wasn’t so much a gamble by Trakh as a calculated move.

“When she sees a challenge, she goes out and does it,” Trakh said. “She can dominate a game.”

But Trakh added that Anton’s statistics--13.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists during the regular season--are not overwhelming because sometimes she sees limited action against weaker teams and because Anton doesn’t like to take advantage of the situation.

“She feels no reason to embarrass an opponent,” Trakh said.

Anton appreciates Trakh’s support but would prefer less fanfare from the coach.

“It’s an honor, but I try to ignore it. I don’t like people who flaunt so I try not to do it,” Anton said. “I like to talk about the team, not myself. The W (win) is what matters.”

With Anton on the team, Brea has put up a lot of W’s. The Ladycats are 96-4 since her freshman year, when they lost two of those games during a trip to New York. Their last defeat also came against a New York team, nationally ranked Christ the King, in a January game at Brea. The 58-43 setback was an eye-opener, Anton said.

“I think it was the turning point of our season,” Anton said. “It got us back into reality. It made us work harder.”

Not that Anton wasn’t already giving it all she had. Anybody who has seen her knows she plays earnestly at both ends of the court, even when slowed for a few games this season by an ankle injury suffered in a preseason tournament. She wants to be a complete-package player, one also recognized for her defensive abilities. She calls it the mark of a true player.

“If you play your hardest and you still lose, that’s OK. But if you don’t give 100%, that’s frightful,” she said.

Anton and the Ladycats might have to give it a little extra push Saturday. Moreau comes into the game highly regarded and on the heels of a morale-boosting, convincing victory (74-57) over then-undefeated Sacramento El Camino last Saturday in the final of the Northern California Regional. And Anton could do without the blues she felt after last year’s defeat.

“I don’t want to end (the season) on a losing note, so I’m trying to get my frame of mind together,” she said.