Brea-Olinda Gets Defensive; Defeats Morningside, 49-35 : III-AA girls: Despite shooting 33.3% from the field, the Ladycats win their fourth consecutive section championship.

It wasn’t exactly an offensive masterpiece, but the Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball team worked its way into the record books Saturday night.

Top-seeded Brea-Olinda overcame a poor shooting night to defeat second-seeded Inglewood Morningside, 49-35, in the Southern Section III-AA championship game at the Bren Center.

It was the fourth consecutive section title for the Ladycats (28-2), tying them with Morningside and Riverside Poly for most consecutive championships. Morningside entered the game having won four consecutive major division titles, and Riverside Poly won four in a row between 1979 and 1982.

Jody Anton scored a game-high 24 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and carried Brea-Olinda’s offense. The Ladycats shot only 33.3% (19 of 57) from the field and committed 16 turnovers.

“We’re a defensive team, and that’s what we won with tonight,” said Brea Coach Mark Trakh, who won his 320th game in 12 seasons at the school. “This game may have been ugly to some, but it was beautiful to us.”

Brea-Olinda held Morningside’s leading scorer, Tina Thompson, to 15 points, eight below her average. Thompson pulled down a game-high 22 rebounds but made only five of 29 shots from the field, including 0 of 11 from three-point range.

Thompson’s shooting was typical of Morningside’s frustration. The Monarchs shot only 19.2% (10 of 52) for the game.

“Our focus was to stop (Thompson),” Anton said. “We knew if we stopped her, we would have a pretty good chance. We played good team defense, and things just came our way.”

Brea-Olinda pulled away from a 10-10, first-quarter tie by outscoring Morningside, 7-0, in the first 3 minutes 26 seconds of the second quarter. Anton had four points in the run, and Colleen Hudson added seven points in the quarter as Brea led, 22-16, at halftime.

Morningside (17-11) shot a dismal one of 22 in the second quarter, missing several layups. Brea also had its problems shooting in the first half. The Ladycats were five of 23, and point guard Nicole Erickson, normally an accurate shooter, was 0 for 8 and finished with only one point, 12 below her average.

“Nicole handled the ball well for us, which was important,” Trakh said. “She was off tonight shooting, but she’ll be back.”

Anton, a 6-foot senior, made five of 10 shots, including two three-pointers, to finish with 13 first-half points.

The Ladycats pushed the lead to 29-16 with another 7-0 run to open the third quarter. But Morningside kept pace behind Kamiesha Prewitt’s two three-pointers and trailed, 33-26, at the end of the quarter.

Anton hit a three-pointer with 7:25 left in the fourth quarter, and Nicole Clark followed with a jumper 50 seconds later as Brea began building its lead. Morningside came no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Prewitt scored 12 points for Morningside, which had only four players who scored.

Hudson was the only Brea player other than Anton to score in double figures, finishing with 11 points.

“We won tonight without our offense, and that’s a key,” Trakh said. “Great teams find a way to win, and we did.”