Michigan: No. 1 Buchanan rains some 3s to top Brandywine for district title

COLOMA — For much of the season, No. 1-ranked Buchanan has dominated with its size inside, led by 6-4 Miss Basketball candidate Faith Carson, her 6-0 sister Alyssa and 5-8 point guard LaBria Austin.

But Saturday it was the Bucks' 3-point shooting which made a difference in a second straight Division 3 district championship.

Gabe Miller's team hit on five of its first six 3-point attempts, raced out to a 16-point lead and then held off No. 9 Brandywine 67-57 in the district title game.

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Buchanan will take a 21-1 record into Tuesday's 7 p.m. regional semifinal against Bronson (20-3) at Centreville High School. The Bucks won at Bronson 42-29 back on January 23.

Brandywine led early 9-8. But the Bucks hit four straight 3-pointers, including two by Faith Carson, to go up 22-12 and never trailed again.

Two straight treys by Hannah Tompkins in the second period increased the lead to 16. And Buchanan was in control most of the rest of the way.

"We've worked on our 3-point shooting," Miller said. "It doesn't always show up in the box score. But Faith and Hannah are two of our stronger shooters. And we took advantage of what was open."

"With Buchanan you have to pick your poison," said Brandywine coach Josh Hood, whose team has no one in the playing group taller than 5-9. "We didn't want to get beat in the paint the way we did the last time we played them (in a 52-41 loss a month ago). So we wanted to force them to shoot 3s. It was to our advantage to have Faith shooting out front instead of going to the blocks. Unfortunately, she was making the 3s and so were her teammates."

Brandywine did make a run to close within three at 50-47 on Kadence Brumitt's 3-pointer with six minutes left in the game. But the Bucks went on an 11-1 run from there to go up 61-48 and seal the deal.

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"It's exhausting," Miller said. "But we feel great. There's a sense of relief. We knew we played a great team. This game was the caliber of a Final Four game. It's nice to take a big sigh and we'll get back at it Sunday. But we've been here the last two or three years. We've gone through these type of games and been able to win. We didn't panic when they made their run. And after they got within three, we made one big push to take control."

"We played well," Hood said. "We did all of the stuff offensively that we wanted to do. If you had told me before the game that we'd score 57 points, I'd have said that's good news for Brandywine. But they played better. Everybody made shots for them. We didn't get enough stops at the defensive end to win. We cut it to three and couldn't get stops. Our staple is defense, but they were bigger at at least three positions. It was easier for them to throw it over the top of us. That enabled them to take advantage of some of our bad rotations."

Faith Carson, who finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and four assists, scored 11 of her total in the first quarter, including three 3-pointers. Alyssa Carson added 16 points and Austin had 12 points, four rebounds and eight assists. But it was the play of guard Jillian McKean that Miller singled out. McKean scored six points, had five rebounds, dished out three assists and had two steals.

"The last two games Jillian got to every loose ball," Miller said. "She was all over the court, securing balls for us."

Guard Ellie Knapp poured in 30 for Brandywine, including six 3-pointers. Adelyn Drotoz added 14 and Brumitt had 13.

The future looks bright for Brandywine, which finished 21-3, all three losses coming to Buchanan. The Bobcats graduate just one player, sharp-shooting backup guard Cortney Bates. Brandywine will also have back guard Niyah Mason, who missed most of the season after a December auto accident.

"We have to get physically bigger, stronger and faster," Hood said. "And we will work relentlessly to make that happen."

BUCHANAN 67, BRANDYWINE 57

BUCHANAN (67): Maddie Young 0, Jillian McKean 6, LaBria Austin 12, Hannah Herman 4, Katie Ailes 4, Alyssa Carson 16, Hannah Tompkins 9, Faith Carson 16. Totals 27 4-8 67.

BRANDYWINE (57): Adeline Gill 0, Ellie Knapp 30, Adelyn Drotoz 14, Ireland Prenkert 0, Miley Young 0, Kadence Brumitt 13. Totals 21 4-9 57.

3-point baskets: Buchanan 8 (F. Carson 3, Tompkins 3, A. Carson 1, Herman 1), Brandywine 11 (Knapp 6, Brumitt 3, Drotoz 2). Total fouls (fouled out): Buchanan 13, Brandywine 12 (Young), Records: Buchanan 21-1, Brandywine 21-3

PAIRINGS

DIVISION 2

DISTRICT

At Edwardsburg

Monday, February 27

Benton Harbor 43, Berrien Springs 32

Wednesday, March 1

Dowagiac 54, Niles 29

Edwardsburg 53, Benton Harbor 43

Friday, March 3

Championship, Edwardsburg 42, Dowagiac 22

REGIONAL

At Three Rivers

Tuesday, March 7

Holland Christian (17-7) vs. Edwardsburg (17-7), 5:30 p.m.

Vicksburg (23-0)-Olivet (18-4) winner vs. Plainwell (14-9), 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 9

Championship, 7 p.m.

DIVISION 3

DISTRICT

At Coloma

Monday, February 27

Cassopolis 54, Bridgman 34

Wednesday, March 1

Brandywine 66, Coloma 14

Buchanan 70, Cassopolis 28

Friday, March 3

Championship, Brandywine vs. Buchanan, 7 p.m., postponed

Saturday, March 4

Championship, Buchanan 67, Brandywine 57

REGIONAL

At Centreville

Tuesday, March 7

Watervliet (20-4) vs. Kalamazoo Christian (21-3), 5:30 p.m.

Bronson (20-3) vs. Buchanan (21-1), 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 9

Championship, 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: No. 1 Buchanan girls beat Brandywine in Division 3 district final