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BRIDGMAN — Phase one of Brandywine’s postseason journey in girls’ basketball is complete.

Josh Hood’s Lady Bobcats hoisted the Division 3 district championship trophy Friday following a decisive 66-21 win over White Pigeon at Bridgman High School. 

The win sends No. 1-ranked Brandywine (24-0) back home for a 7 p.m. matchup with Bronson (22-2) on Monday. Watervliet (11-13) faces Kalamazoo Christian (20-4) in the first game at 5:30 p.m.

The finals are at 6 p.m. Wednesday. 

“The girls were really motivated tonight. In our program we really pride ourselves on winning championships. When playing for a conference title a few weeks ago at Berrien Springs, you could see a different fire in the girls’ eyes. We played well in Wednesday’s win over Bridgman, but tonight on the bus ride over and as we warmed up it looked like they were really locked in,” Hood said. “When the benchmark for success is whether or not you win a state championship, that’s ridiculous. There are alot of good basketball teams around here who haven’t won a district in 20 years. When these chances come along you really have to celebrate them. We’re going to enjoy this tonight because we’ve worked way to hard not to. I’m really proud of our girls’ effort and how they came out and took care of business in the first half. The team in 2025 is going to be on that banner forever. On Saturday we will get back to work with a three-hour practice and get ready for an unbelievable regional at our place.”

Brandywine has now won 11 district titles under Hood and claimed 12 of the last 15.

Once again it was Brandywine’s full-court defensive pressure that set the Bobcats up for several baskets at the offensive end, along with its balance in the scoring column where nine different players contributed. 

Brandywine’s pressure forced White Pigeon (19-5) into 18 turnovers and the Lady Bobcats scored off several of those miscues.

“We watched film Thursday and even though we only gave up 11 points Wednesday. there were just some intensity things we weren’t pleased with defensively plus we need to work on shooting the ball much better,” Hood said. 

Seniors Paige Krisher and Miley Young led the way for Brandywine with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Krisher made two of the Bobcats’ eight three pointers on the night. Bobcats’ senior Adelyn Drotoz made a trio of triples for nine points. Sophomore Lily Gill contributed nine points followed by Adeline Gill and freshman Brook Brumitt with seven apiece. 

Brandywine shot 25-of-56 (45 percent) from the floor and made 8-of-10 (80 percent) free-throw attempts. 

White Pigeon junior Sydney McClure paced White Pigeon with 11 points, including a pair of triples, and Sadie McDaniel added four points. 

The Lady Chiefs were held to 8-of-33 (24.2 percent) and 3-for-7 (43 percent).

Brandywine also enjoyed a 29-15 rebounding advantage. 

Adeline Gill pulled down seven boards for the Bobcats, while Lily Gill and Brumitt had four apiece. 

Young added four steals and three assists. Krisher also had a pair of steals.

White Pigeon was led in rebounding by McDaniel with six. 

Brandywine bolted out to a 14-0 advantage to start the game. Lily Gill keyed that run with five points, including a triple, while Drotoz drained a pair of triples and Mackenna Price converted a pair of layups for the Bobcats, who led comfortably 28-3 at the end of the first quarter. 

The Bobcats outscored the Chiefs 20-7 in the second quarter as they continued to capitalize on turnovers by its foes that led to easy transition buckets. Krisher added a pair of threes in the second period for Brandywine. Brumitt came off the bench and added a couple of key buckets for the Lady Bobcats, who carried a 48-10 lead into halftime. 

Krisher added seven points in the third quarter as Brandywine built its advantage to 58-14 entering the fourth quarter.  

With the district trophy safely tucked away, Hood and his team turns its attention to winning one of the toughest regionals in the state on its home floor. 

“You know I’m a Bobcat Kool-Aide drinker, but there’s not a better venue in this area to host a regional than the Bobcat Den. The place is right up on the court and it will be rocking and our Brandywine fans will be cheering us on. There’s nothing like the Bobcat Express during tournament basketball. We anticipate a sellout at Brandywine on Monday,” Hood said.  

Brandywine owns a 69-37 win over Bronson back on Jan. 14. Bronson hasn’t lost a game since and is riding a 17-game winning streak.