EAST LANSING – The third time simply was not the charm for the Brandywine High School girls’ basketball team Thursday afternoon.
The Bobcats, making a third straight trip to the Final Four, saw their season end with a 51-33 setback at the hands of Jackson Lumen Christi.
Lumen Christi (24-3) advances to play Pewamo-Westphalia (26-2) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Division 3 state title game in the Breslin Center on the Michigan State campus. It will be the first-ever trip to the title game for Lumeni Christi.
Pewamo-Westphalia defeated Roscommon 46-33 in the first semifinal on Thursday afternoon.
Brandywine, which lost in the semifinal a year ago, finishes at 26-2.
The Titans delivered the knockout punch early in the Division 3 semifinal contest in the Breslin Center. Lumen Christi raced to a 14-0 lead as the Bobcats turned the ball over time and time again in the game’s first four minutes.
Brandywine, which entered the contest with an 11-game winning streak, scored its first basket on a shot in the lane by junior Mackenna Price to make it 14-2 with 3:01 to play in the opening period.
The Bobcats trailed 18-3 after the first stanza. Senior guard Lily Ganton scored eight points and hit a pair of treys to get the Titans going in the first period. Brandywine had just one basket to go with 10 turnovers in the initial quarter. The Bobcats shot just 20 percent in the first period, while the Titans shot 50 percent.
“We played very nervous at the start of the game,” said Brandywine coach Josh Hood in a phone interview on the bus ride back to Niles early Thursday evening. “We had a lot of new faces out there, even though this was our third straight trip to the semifinals.
“We didn’t execute like we wanted to at the start and Jackson seized the moment. Our girls were confident coming into the game, but they stepped up and hit shots early.”
Brandywine never could put a dent in the Jackson lead after the slow start. The Titans led 29-10 at halftime and 44-25 at the end of the third period. Sophomore Lucy Wrozek had all 10 of her points in the first half for the Titans. Brandywine had just four baskets at halftime.
The Bobcats simply could not make a shot in the loss, finishing at 10-of-28 from the field. Brandywine also went 11-of-24 from the free-throw line and had 23 turnovers in the loss.
Freshman Zaya Price led the Bobcats with 18 points and nine rebounds. Junior Lily Gill scored seven points for Brandywine.
Jackson shot 21-of-50 from the field, including 3-of-16 from distance. The Titans were 6-of-12 from the line. Jackson had a 24-8 scoring edge in points off turnovers and a 19-2 edge in fast break points in the dominating win.
Brandywine had won all 26 of its games by double digits entering the semifinal matchup. They had allowed just four prior opponents to score 40 or more points with their relentless pressure defense. The 51 points allowed Thursday were the second most all season, eclipsed only by the 55 given up in a 55-44 home loss to Division 2 Otsego on Feb. 7.
“I told our girls to be very proud,” Hood emphasized. “It’s always tough to lose that last game, but these girls are champions in every facet of life. This will hurt today, but when they give it some time and reflect back on it, they should be all smiles.”
Hood’s team posted a 79-5 mark the past three years and went 100-8 over the past four seasons. They were just the third team in Southwestern Michigan girls’ basketball history to go to three straight Final Fours, joining Lakes Michigan Catholic (1986-88) and St. Joseph (1992-94).
Hood, who has won 10 regionals and made five trips to the Final Four in his 17 seasons at Brandywine, is now 376-40.
“To reach the Breslin again is the pinnacle of high school basketball in Michigan, and this just says a lot about our program at little Brandywine in Niles,” Hood stated. “Our 79 wins the past three seasons is the third most in girls basketball in state history. That’s going back to the 1960s. That says something about our coaches, our girls and our school and our community.
“This senior class has just been amazing. Their 100 wins is the best four-year stretch, boys or girls basketball, in Southwestern Michigan history.”
The Bobcats, who lost seven seniors from last year’s squad, bid goodbye to five this year. Those include starter Karleigh Byrd, along with reserves Macy Pellow, Sydney Olson, Brie Reese and Makenzii Myer.
Brandywine is slated to return starters Lily Gill, Mackenna Price, Zaya Price and Brook Brumitt next season. Gill, Mackenna Price and Brumit are juniors and Zaya Price is a freshman. Gill led the team in scoring at 13.7 ppg., while Zara Price averaged 12.8, Mackenna Price 10.8 and Byrd 9.3.
Both Gill and Byrd were starters on the 2024-25 team, while Mackenna Price was one of the team’s top reserves.
Jackson Lumen Christi was led by sophomore guard Kenna Hunt with 16 points. The team’s top scorer at 19.9 ppg. was a first team All-State choice in 2025. Ganton finished with 13 points and Wrozek 10. Hunt also had eight assists, seven rebounds and seven steals.
The Titans lost once during the regular season to a Division 2 team, Rockford, in Michigan. Their other two losses came to teams from Ohio.
Hood’s team lost 31-29 to Ypsilanti Arbor Prep in the semifinals in 2025 on two free throws with two seconds to play after a controversial foul call. They finished 27-1. Two years ago, they lost 33-30 to Arbor Prep in the title game to finish at 26-2.
Hood has now lost in postseason play each of the last four years to a private school. Jackson is a private Catholic school located just outside of Jackson. Their first-year coach, Scott Stine, won three of the previous four Division 3 state titles while coaching at Ypsilanti Arbor Prep.
Hood, who went on a postgame rant after the season-ending loss in 2025 about playing private schools in the Final Four, was seemingly less upset this time around.
“It is what it is,” said Hood. “It’s inevitable, right? Scott Stine is a good coach and give him credit for what he has done. But we will not stop until we win a state championship. We will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of that.
“We will take a few weeks off and get back in the gym. We have to come back with a fierceness. Nothing is given, and I have no doubt that we will be back to this place again. We will be back. Our standard never graduates, and our hard work towards that standard will not change. Ever.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Brandywine girls basketball season ends in Final Four loss
Reporting by Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
