NILES — The biggest game of the season is Thursday night for the Brandywine girls basketball team.

The Bobcats, ranked No. 10 in the latest Associated Press Division 3 poll, will make the short bus ride over to Buchanan to face the arch rival Bucks, in a game that could go a long way toward deciding who will win the BCS Athletic Conference’s Red Division championship.

“You cannot lose the conference championship Thursday night, but it sure would be nice to get a leg up on everyone,” said Brandywine coach Josh Hood following his team’s 58-26 rout of visiting Benton Harbor Monday night.

Brandywine does not overlook anyone it faces on its schedule, but the Bucks have come up more than once over the past couple of weeks as the showdown loomed closer and closer. Another point that has been driven home to the Bobcats by Hood is the fact that this senior class has not won a BCS Red Division title.

Benton Harbor may have been the perfect team to get Brandywine ready for Buchanan, which slipped from No. 3 in Division 2 to an honorable mention selection in this week’s AP poll after the Bucks dropped a 48-40 decision to Niles last week.

The Tigers were long and athletic and had size in the post.

It did not take long for the Bobcats to figure out how to attack Benton Harbor, which struggled against Brandywine’s constant pressure defense.

The Bobcats (8-0, 3-0 Red) led 18-0 after one quarter and 20-0 before the Tigers finally got on the scoreboard.

“We hit some shots, and we are sharing the ball really well,” Hood said. “I thought Alexis Rhodes had a really good first half. She was inspired and much more energetic. Overall, I am proud of the effort. We have been prepping for Buchanan, so we wanted more energy today. Now you play a rivalry. Basketball in southwest Michigan is fun when Brandywine and Buchanan, two big rivals, are playing good basketball.”

Hood said that he does not expect the moment to be too big for his team.

“The message is really clear and simple,” he said. “We have played in big games. These are regional champions from last year, and they know what to expect when we go on the road. We have only played one road game so far, which is not an excuse. We have to go there and take care of business. Since Christmas break, we have been talking a little bit about the Bucks and just starting to get our preparation ready,”

Hood said the Bucks shoot the ball extremely well and have Faith Carson, a 6-foot-2 athletic center in the middle, who will have to be dealt with,

“They are well-coached,” he said. “We will have our hands full Thursday night, But, when you come to Brandywine, you play in big games, so we will be ready.”

The Bobcats did not let up on the Tigers in the opening half and took a 34-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The score reached 55-16 by the end of the third quarter. It did not take long for Brandywine to establish a running clock in the final quarter.

Hood, who constantly rotates players throughout the game, emptied the rest of his bench in the final eight minutes, which included freshman Cortney Bates, who came in and hit four straight 3-pointers, to the delight of the fans, her teammates and the Brandywine coaching staff.

“She goes out there and hits four in a row,” Hood said of Bates. “It was like an ocean out there for her. When you can get kids experience, and that was good court-time experience, and you see her smiling and having fun was special. When you are a freshman on varsity, you sometimes do not get play as many minutes. We practice really hard, and for her to be able to have a moment like that is a special moment. That is something she will remember for the rest of her life.”

Malikiyyah Abdullah tied Bates and Benton Harbor’s Hjmya Jordan for high scorer with 12 points, while sister Zakiyyah Abdullah added 11 points. The Bobcats also got eight points from Rhodes and Kennedy Byrd.

Tipoff for Thursday’s showdown at Buchanan is set for 7 p.m.