Anton More Than A-OK for Ladycats : Player of the year: Her all-around excellence led Brea-Olinda to four league titles and four State finals.

Two days after her final basketball game as a Brea-Olinda Ladycat, Jody Anton’s voice was still filled with emotion.

“I’m going to miss everything,” Anton said. “It’s hard to realize you’ll never be able to play high school basketball again.”

But she’s not going without leaving her mark in county girls’ basketball. Or without the trophy for The Times Orange County player of the year.

For the past four years, Anton thrilled crowds with her all-around excellence wherever the Ladycats played. She led Brea to four State finals, winning three, and to four Orange League championships.

As far as Brea Coach Mark Trakh is concerned, Anton was to Ladycat basketball what hair spray was to the pompadour.

“She’s the greatest player I’ve ever had,” said Trakh, who’s coached several outstanding players in his 12 years at the school.

Said Esperanza Coach Marc Hill: “She has no weaknesses. She’s a winner.”

The Ladycats already were a major force in the Southland when Anton joined the team as a forward for the 1988-89 season, but they had never reached the State final. She helped Brea get over that hurdle quickly.

With Anton in the lineup during her freshman season, the Ladycats won their first State Division III title with a 70-46 victory over San Francisco Mercy.

Anton played in all 33 games that season and led the team in rebounding with 277 and was fourth in scoring with 310 points.

Brea returned to the finals the next season but lost to Auburn Placer, 54-43. Last year, the Ladycats moved up to Division II and secured their second State championship in three seasons by beating Hayward Moreau, 54-46.

Saturday in Sacramento, the 6-foot Anton concluded her brilliant Ladycat career with a game-high 19 points and 16 rebounds in Brea’s 47-44 State Division III victory over Healdsburg. Afterward, the typically controlled Anton cried openly at the realization that her high school basketball years were over.

“It was pretty emotional,” Anton said Monday. “It all came down to that game. It was a great way to cap off the four years for me.”

In those four seasons, Anton scored 1,674 points, 122 fewer than Aimee McDaniel’s school career record. She led Brea in rebounds each season and finished with a school-record 1,038. She also had 546 assists, 59 behind McDaniel’s school-record total. Including playoff games this season, Anton led the Ladycats in scoring with 557 points in 34 games (16.3-point average).

Anton was the State’s Division II player of the year in ’91 and also was a Times’ All-County selection.

Many of Anton’s points came in crucial games against tough opponents. For instance, she scored 24 in a 49-35 victory over Inglewood Morningside in the Southern Section Division III-AA finals and 18 in a 70-51 victory over Rancho Alamitos in the Southern California Division III regional title game. In January, in a 48-42 nonleague loss to Palos Verdes Peninsula, the country’s No. 1 team according to USA Today, Anton had 20 points.

“It’s not what you do against the weak teams, but what you do against the great teams that should determine how good a basketball player is,” Trakh said.

Next season, Anton will lend her skills to the women’s team at USC, where she’ll try to forge as successful a career as she had at Brea.

“I’ll always remember all the team members I played with and all the friendships,” she said. “I can’t narrow it down to one moment. There are so many memories.”

The Girls’ Roster

FIRST TEAM

Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. Pts. F Jody Anton Brea-Olinda Sr. 6-0 15.7 G Olivia DiCamilli Costa Mesa Jr. 5-11 22.7 G Nicole Erickson Brea-Olinda So. 5-6 13.0 G Alisa Farr Capistrano Valley Sr. 5-8 11.8 C Christine Garner Tustin Sr. 6-0 17.8 G Melanie Iwamasa Edison Sr. 5-9 14.2 G Shannon James Rancho Alamitos Sr. 5-7 17.1 C Zrinka Kristich La Habra Sr. 6-5 13.1 F Michaela Ross Newport Harbor Jr. 5-9 17.4 C Jessica Trippet Marina Jr. 5-11 15.0

SECOND TEAM

Pos. Name School Yr. Ht. Pts. F Jessica Eggleston Cypress So. 5-11 16.7 G Mollie Flint Corona del Mar Jr. 5-4 19.4 G Lynly Matsumoto Kennedy Jr. 5-7 18.0 F Sommer McLane Fullerton Sr. 5-11 17.5 C Kristin McOwen San Clemente Sr. 5-11 13.9 F Shari Needham Tustin Sr. 6-0 18.7 F Anita Stecker Rancho Alamitos Sr. 5-9 15.3 F Monique Sweet Estancia Sr. 5-9 18.1 G Clare Walker Huntington Beach Jr. 5-10 18.2 G Angie White Capistrano Valley Jr. 5-8 14.6

Player of the Year: Jody Anton, Brea-Olinda

Coach of the Year: Bob Becker, Rancho Alamitos