KALAMAZOO — Hart threw No. 2-ranked Brandywine a curveball with its defensive game plan for Tuesday’s state quarterfinal matchup at Loy Norrix, and it succeeded in catching the Bobcats off guard. Unfortunately for the Pirates, after a quarter to adjust, Brandywine jumped to a big lead and held off a late charge to end Hart’s incredible March run with a 50-38 defeat.
Brandywine coach Josh Hood, who won his 500th career game in the Bobcats’ regional final win last week, said he’d prepared his Bobcats for a track meet for six days after watching film on the Pirates due to their quickness and propensity for fast-paced games. When Hart instead started the game in an extremely passive zone defense, conceding three-point shots rather than allow the Bobcats to attack the basket, it left his team, briefly at least, flummoxed.
“Our girls are looking at (me as if to say), ‘Coach, what did you prepare us for?’” Hood chuckled. “They were in a very passive packed-in (zone) and were going to make us shoot from the outside. We have a lot of really good athletes, so it was a phenomenal game plan by their coach.”
Hart coach Ron Williamson reasoned that his team wouldn’t be able to beat the Bobcats, who have impressive speed and athleticism, at their own game, but might be able to pull the upset if Brandywine was basically forced to play a different style.
“Watching a lot of game film, they’re extremely quick,” Williamson said. “They average almost 20 points a quarter when the scores are close. We like to run, but we knew we couldn’t run with them. It was a conscious effort. If they have a weakness, it’s shooting the three-point shot, so we purposely said we’ll give up the threes.”
The gambit worked early on. Neither team scored for nearly four minutes to start the game as Hart kept the pace slow, and then the Pirates (16-10) took a 4-0 lead after baskets by Natalie Rosema and Reese Smith. Brandywine responded, and Bobcat freshman star Zaya Price gave her team their first lead late in the quarter by sneaking into an open spot in the zone and scoring a layup. Hart had a few chances at the rim during the quarter that didn’t fall.
In the second quarter, Brandywine’s swarming defense targeted Smith and Rilynn Porter, forcing them into rushed passes that became turnovers. Those yielded several easy baskets, and the Bobcats opened up a 20-8 lead by halftime despite losing Price for most of the quarter after she picked up her second foul.
“You’ve got to get on (Porter’s) and (Smith’s) top shoulders,” Hood said. “You’ve got to make them give it up. We wanted someone else to have to beat us...We’ve struggled this year when (Price) is out with her presence in the middle. For us to build a lead with her on the bench for six and a half minutes, that was a huge deal.”
Porter wasn’t letting the game get away without a fight, though, and almost single-handedly took over the Pirate offense in the third quarter, scoring 13 of the team’s 15 points. The junior star showed off her entire skill set, attacking the basket and connecting on jump shots both inside and outside the arc. She ended the night with 21 points to lead all scorers.
“Rilynn has been a leader for us, scoring-wise, all year long,” Williamson said. “She hates to lose, so she’s going to do what she has to do. Every girl on this team has a role, and they accept their role. Some days it’s scoring and some days it’s others.”
Porter’s burst cut the Pirates’ deficit to eight points, 31-23, going into the fourth quarter. After Rosema connected on a pair of three-pointers, Hart was within six points, 38-32, with 3:48 to play. However, every time it was needed, Brandywine was able to make a big defensive stop or a basket to keep the Pirates at bay. The Bobcats also connected on 9-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Given Brandywine’s track record of success, it was unsurprising that the Bobcats stepped up in big moments. The Bobcats have now won 26 or more games and advanced to the state final four three consecutive years. Hood said the team’s 79 total wins in that span ranks third in MHSAA girls basketball history for any three-year period.
“That’s a very good team, and I won’t be surprised if they continue to play throughout until the end,” Williamson said. “We knew we were going to have issues with them and we were extremely happy with the way the girls played.”
Rosema’s nine points supplemented Porter’s 21. For Brandywine, Price had 17 points, Karleigh Byrd scored 12 (all in the second half) and Lily Gill chipped in 11.
The Pirates could leave the arena with their heads held high after playing their best basketball in March - any coach’s goal when the season tips off. Rotation players Aurora Virtanen and Leah Walker will graduate from the Pirate roster, but with everyone else set to return next season, the experience gained this month will make Hart even better in time.
“They’re a class act and they run a great program,” Hood said of the Pirates. “They have to be very excited about their future.”
“Especially in tournament time, I thought Rilynn and Reese both did a good job of saying, ‘This is our team,’” Williamson said. “’We’ll put the team on our shoulders.’ I wish maybe it would have happened earlier in the year, but as a coach, we weren’t necessarily working to win every game. We were working to get better, and from that standpoint, we did it.”
