In a battle of unbeaten teams that could very well see each other in post season play, Brandywine held off New Buffalo 63-51 to win its own holiday tournament.

The Bobcats uncharacteristically turned the ball over 26 times and was outplayed according to coach Josh Hood. But in the end, Brandywine hit 10-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated and improve to 8-0.

The Bison (6-1) may have very well lost the game in the second quarter according to coach Candy VanBuskirk.

“The first quarter we hung with them and doing well and we were kind of at ease with that,” she said. “Then in the second quarter I had Lena (Madison) down with two (fouls) and I had Amy Golebiewski down with two, which kind of kept some of our scoring off the floor. We got down a little bit in the second quarter so our confidence wasn’t quite where it needed to be.”

A loss of scoring and confidence allowed the Bobcats to turn up the pressure and increase a 15-8 first quarter lead into a 34-16 halftime advantage. Brandywine poured in 19 second-quarter points while holding New Buffalo to eight points for the second consecutive quarter.

Brandywine was unable to stretch its advantage in the third quarter and had to settle for a 13-point bulge (43-30) heading into the final stanza. The Bison held the Bobcats to just nine points in the third quarter to cut into the deficit.

It didn’t look like Brandywine was going to be able to shake New Buffalo in the final eight minutes, but thanks to some timely free throw shooting — including a 6-for-6 performance by Carlie Newman, the Bison were unable to mount a big enough charge to pull off the upset.

“One thing that we try to pride ourselves in for the last two and a half years is there is not really any games up until this year that we got outworked,” Brandywine coach Josh Hood said. “Tonight, just like the Bridgman game a couple of weeks ago, I thought New Buffalo wanted it more. They were more energized, they were having fun out on the basketball floor. We were flat. Just not the type of team we see on a daily basis in practice and I don’t know why we think we are good enough to come out here and coast. We were fortunate to get out of here with a win. All the credit in the world goes to New Buffalo.”

Newman led all scorers with 25 points. Brandywine also got 15 points from Madison Pellow and nine points from Brooke Smith.

Jade Madison and Lena Madison combined for 37 of New Buffalo’s 51 points.

NEW BUFFALO 51

Zoe Lauricella 1 0-0 2; Amy Golebiewski 1 0-0 2; Dana Handley 0 0-0 0; Molly Griffin 0 0-0 0; Abbey Dixon 0 1-2 1; Jasmine Palenske 0 0-0 0; Breanna Workman 2 5-8 9; Lena Madison 5 7-7 17; Jade Madison 9 2-5 20. TOTALS: 18 15-22 51

BRANDYWINE 63

Carlie Newman 8 6-6 25; Rachael Ort 1 0-0 3; Mackenzie Shelton 2 1-2 5; Tia Hullinger 1 2-4 4; Victoria Knight 1 0-0 2; Brooke Smith 4 0-0 9; Mikayla Kemp 0 0-0 0; Madison Pellow 6 2-4 15. TOTALS: 23 11-16 63

New Buffalo 8 16 30 51

Brandywine 15 34 43 63

3-point baskets: New Buffalo 0, Brandywine 5 (Newman 3, Ort, Smith). Total fouls (fouled out): New Buffalo 16 (none), Brandywine 17 (none). Varsity records: Brandywine 8-0, New Buffalo 6-1

Niles’ Maureen Craig scored a game-high 29 points to help the Vikings overcome a halftime deficit and defeat Hartford 64-49 in the consolation game of the Brandywine Holiday Tournament Wednesday night. (Daily Star Photo/SCOTT NOVAK)

Hartford…49

Niles…64

Niles scored the first nine points of the consolation game and went on to defeat Hartford 64-49 Wednesday night.

The Vikings had nine points from a handful of players, but leading scorer Maureen Craig had yet dent the scoreboard.

That didn’t take long to change as the senior guard scores 27 of Niles’ next 41 points to help turn a 14-10 first-quarter advantage into a 50-38 lead heading into the final period.

Hartford outscored Niles 15-9 in the second quarter to grab a 25-23 halftime advantage.

But in the third quarter, Craig caught fire and banged home most of her six 3-pointers to give Niles back the lead and helped the Vikings take control of the contest.

Niles finished the second half outscoring the Indians 41-24.

Alexis Arnold, who finished with four triples, added 18 points, while Taylor Brandstatter finished with eight.

Hartford (2-5) was led by Kaitelyn Smith’s 14 points. Kara Weberg added 12.

HARTFORD 49

Brianna Edmonds 2 4-6 8; Brooke Edmonds 4 0-1 9; Ta’Kela Broyles 0 0-0 0; Kaitelyn Smith 5 4-5 14; Julia King 0 2-4 2; Kristen Lamphere 1 0-0 2; Kara Weberg 4 2-7 12; Oliva Freehling 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 17 12-23 49

NILES 64

Taylor Brandstatter 4 0-2 8; Alexis Arnold 7 0-0 18; Kylee Myer 0 0-0 0; Sarah Smith 1 0-0 2; Maureen Craig 9 5-8 29; Anna Sinkink 0 0-0 0; Lashonda Greene 1 0-1 2; Michelle Briand 2 1-3 5; Jackie Grooms 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 24 6-14

Niles 14 23 50 64

Hartford 10 25 38 49

3-point baskets: Niles 10 (Arnold 4, Craig 6), Hartford 3 (Bro. Edmonds, Weberg 2). Total fouls (fouled out): Niles 18 (none), Hartford 16 (none).

Varsity records: Niles 3-5, Hartford 2-5