EAU CLAIRE — Mission accomplished.

The No. 2-ranked Brandywine girls basketball team has been on a mission since losing the Class C District championship to New Buffalo (51-42) last year, which snapped a streak of straight titles.

Following Friday night’s 71-38 rout of the Bison, the Bobcats are once again district champions.

“We were told by the opposing coach that we were going to have to earn this game,” Brandywine coach Josh Hood said. “But this game was not earned tonight. This game was earned starting a week after we lost last year. Our girls went right back to work.

“You know one of our sayings in this program is that the past does not deliver success in the future. We don’t live in the past, although that game has been brought up several times by individuals not with Brandywine. Tonight was the culmination of a year of work by our girls. In the summer they didn’t enjoy Lake Michigan. They were in the gym, getting better at fundamentals and doing the things that were going to get that trophy back to Brandywine.”

As an added bonus, the Bobcats will get the chance to host the Class C Regional tournament beginning Tuesday.

Brandywine will face Schoolcraft (11-11) in the first game at 5:30 p.m., while undefeated Gobles (23-0) will take on Grandville Calvin Christian (18-4) in the second game at approximately 7:15 p.m.

Brandywine (21-1) did not give New Buffalo (6-17) any chance to mount an upset bid at Eau Claire High School Friday night.

The Bobcats raced out to a 10-1 advantage in the game’s opening three minutes and forced 15 first quarter turnovers with its relentless full-court defense.

Brandywine led 22-5 after the opening quarter and was on its way to its seventh district championship.

Both teams scored 15 points in the second quarter leaving New Buffalo facing a 37-20 halftime deficit.

The Bobcats, who worked inside to shoot 50 percent in the opening half, came out firing from the perimeter in the third quarter.

“We like to say that we’re more of a post team this year,” Hood said. “That’s what we want to do. We played them a month ago and they really spread out on the perimeter. So we thought we could isolate one-on-one on their big (6-foot-2 Ashli Drewes). We did a good job of attacking that, Makenna and Brooke especially. When there is a 6-2 presence in there, it is sometimes hard to score. But we did a really good job of getting to the rim.”

In the third quarter, when Brandywine poured in 25 points, it connected on seven 3-pointers to open up a 62-27 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.

“It’s not like we still don’t shoot it,” Hood said. “We’re still going to chuck it. And in the second half when we got our transition going, that basket got to look like an ocean for a while. It was fun. And it’s not about one person having to shoot it. Everyone on the floor was knocking them down. The girls are unselfish, too. Some of the kids knock down two or three in a row, then they’ll pass one up to get one of their buddies one. Again it was a great overall effort.”

Hood emptied his bench in the final eight minutes.

Brandywine’s front line of Makenna Hartline, Michaela Hartline and Brooke Smith combined to score 43 of the Bobcats’ 71 points.

Michaela Hartline led all scorers with 17 points, while Smith had 14 points and five rebounds. Makenna Hartline finished with 12 points, four steals and three assists.

Emily Irwin contributed nine points and seven steals.

Ashli Drewes finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bison. Brittany Pappa added 10.

 

BRANDYWINE 71, NEW BUFFALO 38

New Buffalo 38

Brittany Pappa 10, Olivia Smith 5, Ashli Drewes 13, Mariah Artz 0, Anna Bardusk 8, Sophia Giannetti 2. TOTALS: 13 9-16 38

Brandywine 71

Makenna Hartline 12, Michaela Hartline 17, Brooke Smith 14, Emily Erwin 9, Jaleesa Garner 2, Alyssa Bolen 3, Makena Bowen 3, Rachael Szilagyi 6, Mia Stella 0, Chelsea Luczkowski 5. TOTALS: 25 10-19 71

 

New Buffalo               5          20       27       38

Brandywine               22       37       62       71

3-point baskets: New Buffalo 3 (Bardusk 2, Smith 1), Brandywine 11 (Michaela Hartline 3, Smith 3, Erwin 3, Bolen 1, Bowen 1). Total fouls (fouled out): New Buffalo 16 (none), Brandywine 17 (none). Field goal shooting: New Buffalo 13 for 41 (32 percent), Brandywine 25 for 54 (46 percent). Rebounding: New Buffalo 36 (Drewes 9), Brandywine 28 (Smith 5, Szilagyi 5). Turnovers: New Buffalo 37, Brandywine 20. Varsity records: Brandywine 21-1, New Buffalo 6-17