By By MARK ANDERSON / Niles Daily Star
EDWARDSBURG - Brandywine's last-quarter offensive drive in Tuesday's Lakeland Conference varsity basketball game here was too hot for Edwardsburg to handle.
Yet the Wildcats' 39-29 victory over the Eddies also was wrought by their 1-3-1 zone defense which, according to Brandywine coach Dave Roeder, was used for the first time Tuesday.
The victory moved Brandywine to 2-3.
With junior guard Rachel Batman at the front of the 1-3-1 zone and junior center Nikki Martynuik in the middle, among other key players, Roeder said, "they dictated where the ball goes," which bottled up Edwardburg's offense.
The game's outcome was not always clear, however. It remained close through the third quarter.
After the first quarter the score was 8-6 in Brandywine's favor and a halftime score of 16-15 in Edwardsburg's favor. The Eddies even had a 28-27 edge at the end of the third quarter.
The lead switched several times through the third period, with two-point or three-point gaps in either team's favor.
The game was also highly physical. The game ended with 10 fouls per team, with a number of "wrestling skirmishes" for possession of the ball, Roeder said.
Free throws were a key for the Bobcats. Their points from the line more than provided their margin of victory. Brandywine outshot Edwardsburg 27-12 from the stripe. The Bobcats hit 12 of those shots.
Newman played a key role in Brandywine's late-game drive, netting two free-throws to make the score 37-29, followed by a virtually uncontested layup with 17 seconds left in the game, sealing the Eddies' fate.
Newman led the Bobcats with 13 points in the game, including Brandywine's only 3-pointer. Martynuik had eight and freshman forward Katie Smallwood netted six.
For Edwardsburg, Junior center Kerri Wood was the top scorer with 10 points, followed by sophomore forward Chrissy Breisch with six points.