NILES — For the second game in a row, the Lady cats struggled from deep and, yet again, still found a way to win.

Brandywine defeated an athletic Parchment team 41-29 in a BCS Athletic Conference girls basketball team Friday night.

Early on in the game, the Panthers switched to a 2-3 zone, which took advantage of the Brandywine’s shooting woes.

Brandywine still managed to have an 8-4 lead after the first quarter, but only scored one point in the second and went into halftime down, 11-9.

Brandywine was 0-16 from three-point range in the first half.

For as badly as the Bobcats have shot recently, it is not the most troubling aspect of the team. In fact, head coach Josh Hood would actually rather his players focus on offense less.

“We’re known across the state, especially in southwest Michigan, for our defensive tenacity and our pressure,” he said. “So, we have got to change our mentality. It’s not about the offense in this program. Our defense is what leads to our offense.”

With 6:10 left in the third quarter, junior Madison Bailey hit the game’s first 3-pointer, which ignited a huge run for the Bobcats.

Bailey would hit another three in the quarter, while freshman Maliklyyah Abdullah would add two of her own.

“I was really proud of Madison and Maliklyyah in the third quarter,” Hood said. “That’s 12 big points for us off of the bench.”

The Bobcats put up 21 points in the third, which was more than they scored in the first half. They took a 30-18 lead into the fourth and, from there, cruised to victory.

Nicole Sachman and Zakiyyah Abdullah led the Bobcats in scoring with 16 and 10, respectively.

The victory gives the Bobcats its seventh win in a row, while the Panthers fall to 2-8 on the season and 1-5 in the BCS Athletic Conference Red Division.

Brandywine is now 8-1 on the season and 4-1 in the Red Division. The Bobcats travel to Benton Harbor Tuesday.

On Saturday, Brandywine made up a non-conference game at Fennville.

The Bobcats cruised to an easy 60-39 victory and its eighth consecutive win.

Zikiyyah Abdullah led all scorers with 24 points, while Sachman added 17. Bailey and Kennedy Byrd both contributed eight points.

Boys basketball

It wasn’t quite the homecoming Bobcat fans were hoping for against the Parchment Panthers, as sloppy play prevented the Brandywine boys from capitalizing on