EDWARDSBURG — Defensively, the Brandywine girls basketball team looked like the second-ranked (Class C) team in the state in its 45-23 win Tuesday over Edwardsburg.

The Eddies totaled 40 turnovers and shot only 27 percent (10-of-37) from the field against the Bobcats’ pressure defense.

Offensively, the Bobcats still have some room for improvement as Brandywine shot only 27 percent from the field (18-of-66) and turned the ball over 19 times.

“In back-to-back games we haven’t shot the ball particularly well,” said Brandywine coach Josh Hood, whose team improved to 13-0. “But in our last game we gave up 31 points (to Cassopolis) and tonight we gave up 23. If you can play pretty good defense you have a chance to win. Tonight, was better than Friday in terms of an effort standpoint. When you get five five-second calls (defensively) your girls are playing pretty hard.”

Edwardsburg had 20 turnovers in each half in falling to 4-8 on the season.

“Brandywine plays really good defense in your face,” said Edwardsburg coach Nicole Cartwright. “We just didn’t execute or play smart. We just didn’t take care of the ball.”

The Bobcats never trailed in the game and took control of the contest midway in the second quarter. Emily Erwin’s 3-pointer with 4:10 left in the second quarter started a 9-0 run for Brandywine, which gave them a 21-9 lead with 2:11 left before halftime.

Edwardsburg never got closer than 12 points in the second half.

Brooke Smith scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds for Brandywine. Mackenzie Shelton added seven points, while Rachael Ort, Victoria Knight, Emily Erwin and Mikayla Kemp each scored six.

“That’s our story line,” Hood said. “That’s a good thing. Last year, we saw some box-and-ones. We have five or six girls capable of scoring in double figurers. Again, tonight, we spread the wealth. Our girls are very unselfish. As a coach, you have to be very proud of that.”

Alexis Blake, who was battling an ankle injury, scored 11 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Edwardsburg.

“She played extremely hard tonight,” Cartwright said about Blake. “She really owned the boards. She just outhustled everyone on the floor.”

With the state tournament just around the corner, Hood wants his team to feel of sense of urgency to get better in all areas.

“We’ve got a long ways to go,” Hood said. “This is far from an unfinished product. We’ve still got to find the pieces. We’ve got some girls still learning their roles. We’re going to have a sitdown here and we’ve got to start realizeing what’s important. Everybody’s job isn’t to score. We need some girls to come off the bench and play some defense and not turn the ball over. We’re making too many careless mistakes. We’re not valuing the basketball enough.”

 

BRANDYWINE 45

Rachael Ort 6, Victoria Knight 6, Brooke Smith 10, Tammy Lee 4, Mackenzie Shelton 7, Emily Erwin 6, Michaela Hartline 0, Tia Hullinger 0, Mikayla Kemp 6. TOTALS: 18 5-8 45

EDWARDSBURG 23

Katelynn Rogers 2, Maddi Holmes 0, Alexis Blake 11, Anna Roberts 2, Olivia Hack 5, Rachel Boyles 0, Gabby Golba 0, Haleigh Hite 3. TOTALS: 10 3-8 23

 

Brandywine 10 23 34 45

Edwardsburg 4 11 19 23

3-point goals: Brandywine 4 (Ort 2, Shelton, Erwin), Edwardsburg (none). Total fouls (fouled out): Brandywine 9 (none), Edwardsburg 5 (none). Shooting: Brandywine 18-of-66 for 27-percent, Edwardsburg 10-of-37 for 27-percent. Rebounding: Brandywine 36 (Hullinger 7), Edwardsburg 33 (Blake 18). Turnovers: Brandywine 19, Edwardsburg 40