The Finish Is Fitting for ‘The Greatest’

SACRAMENTO —  Playing word association with Mark Trakh, the Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball coach, can be a dangerous affair.

Ask him about the impact of senior Jody Anton--shoot, just mention her name--and he rolls out a list of accomplishments fast enough to part a person’s hair.

“A record of 129-6, four trips to the State final, four regional titles and four CIF titles,” Trakh said, spitting the words out like a machine gun. “She is the player.”

It took Trakh about five seconds to list Brea-Olinda’s assorted championships of the past four years. Rest assured it will take him much longer to find another player of Anton’s caliber.

Anton, a 6-foot swing player headed for USC next season, recorded game highs in points (19) and rebounds (16) Saturday to lead Brea-Olinda to a 47-44 victory over Healdsburg in the Sate Division III final at the Arco Arena.

It marked the fourth such appearance in Anton’s four seasons on the varsity, a fact that obviously has not been lost on Trakh. Brea-Olinda, which finished 32-2, has won three of the four.

“She’s the greatest player I’ve ever had,” he said.

Alas, there appear to be a few flaws. Appearing at a postgame press conference along with Trakh and several teammates, Anton was asked a rather innocuous question about playing in her final high school game.

She stammered, speechless. One of the few presses she hasn’t beaten.

Tears flowed freely as she cried on the shoulder of teammate Katie Bauer, another senior. For perhaps the first time while wearing a Brea-Olinda uniform, Anton was blanked.

Bauer at first answered for Anton, who then regained her composure.

“This is pretty emotional for us seniors,” Anton said. “I’ll never be able to play with them again. These have been the greatest four years anybody could ask for.”

Not only was her tear duct working overtime, the adrenal glands got some extra work, too.

With two seconds left and Brea-Olinda leading, 46-44, Anton was fouled near midcourt and sent sprawling.

“It was a very physical game,” Anton said. “Probably the most physical of the year.”

Anton wiped away the floor burn, stepped to the free-throw line and made one of two attempts to give Brea-Olinda a three-point lead. It was the final point in the final game of her career.

Seconds later, near the bench, Anton and her teammates held a group hug.

“When you stop and think about it, and look back at all the things we’ve done . . . I can’t explain it or describe the feeling,” she said. “You have to be there.”

Anton was there all afternoon. She played 32 minutes, and though she is listed as a guard, she covered about every position.

“Her versatility is what makes her the best we’ve ever had,” Trakh said.

Anton made seven of 17 shots from the floor, though to some partisan folks, the damage seemed much greater.

“It seemed like 17 for seven to me,” Healdsburg Coach Harry Tappin said.

And for the coaches who have lost to Brea-Olinda 129 times during Anton’s career, four years have seemed like 40.