How Brandywine girls basketball won its 10th regional title in program history
For the first time in more than a month, the Brandywine girls basketball team faced serious game pressure.
Josh Hood’s group rose to the challenge.
A two-point lead at halftime turned into a 59-42 win for the Bobcats over Kalamazoo Christian Wednesday, winning the program’s first MHSAA Division 3 regional championship since 2019 and 10th overall. Brandywine (24-1) moves on to the state quarterfinals, where they will play Grand Rapids Covenant Christian (19-5) Tuesday at 7 p.m. Fennville High School.
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“We’ve played nine or 10 games in a row now where our starters haven’t played in the second half, and I know they hadn’t played in the fourth quarter,” said Hood, who's in his 15th year as Bobcats head coach. “We were concerned about that, but one thing we’re fortunate to have at Brandywine is 14 players who can really compete at practices. Those have been awesome and competitive, and it’s a tribute to the girls in this program.”
Brandywine led for most of the game, minus a few minutes in the second quarter. They trailed, 24-23, late in the frame before a 3 from junior Adeline Gill put the Bobcats ahead, 26-24, at halftime.
While Brandywine wouldn’t trail in the second half, the Comets (23-2) kept it a one-possession game throughout the early parts of the third quarter. Brandywine finally created some separation late in the period, closing on a 13-5 run in the final four minutes to go up, 45-35.
“When we watched Kalamazoo Christian on film, because of (Jordyn) Bonnema and (Elli) VanDusen, people don’t pressure them because they’re nervous about their athleticism and getting to the rim,” Hood said. “But our style is we could throw all 14 girls out there to slow them down, so we wanted to wear them out in the first half because that is not a style they’re accustomed to.”
The dagger came with 3:08 remaining in regulation when junior Adelyn Dorotz drilled a corner 3-pointer, putting the Bobcats ahead 50-37. Kalamazoo called timeout, sending the strong Brandywine fan support into a frenzy.
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Defensively, Brandywine did a good job of bottling up Bonnema. After scoring seven points in the first quarter, the Bobcats held her to 10 total points the last three periods. Bonnema was a Division 3 all-state team selection a season ago.
“Miley (Young) had that assignment,” Hood said. “You’re not going to stop (Bonnema) by yourself, but Miley works so hard and did just a phenomenal job. Miley will be the first to tell you, too, that the other girls did a good job of helping and corralling her, too. It’s a team defense. Our practices all start with defense, and it’s for a reason.”
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Young ended up leading Brandywine on offense with 16 points. Gill added 14, senior Kadence Brumitt 12, Drotoz eight, senior Ellie Knapp five and freshman Lily Gill and junior Nyiah Mason two each.
“It’s like we’re in a dream right now the last three weeks with Brandywine basketball,” Hood said. “Starting with the boys beating Benton Harbor, then both teams celebrating a conference championship. It went right into our senior week while the boys were winning a district championship, and then obviously this week with what’s going on. This is a three-week basketball lover’s dream.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Brandywine girls basketball survives test, beats Kalamazoo Christian
