The Niles Star

Editorial: It’s been a magical season for ‘Cats

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Off to East Lansing they go.

The Brandywine girls’ basketball team, ranked No. 2 in the state, punched its ticket to the Final Four Tuesday night with a 47-37 win over Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.
The win propels the Bobcats into the state semifinals for only the second time in school history.

Brandywine will have deja vu all over again as it takes on St. Ignace in the semifinal on Thursday afternoon at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University.
Brandywine has earned the right to call itself one of the best teams in the state through hard work and dedication.

First-year coach Josh Hood, a Brandywine alum, talked about the countless hours the girls have put in during the off season and since November.

But there is another key to the Bobcats’ success – its fans.

We congratulate the Brandywine faithful for traveling nearly an hour last week to the regional tournament in Schoolcraft and again Tuesday night in Vicksburg.

In fact, Brandywine probably had more fans than host Schoolcraft did and it was no contest Tuesday night.

The Bobcats fans have been loud and proud.

That has not gone unnoticed by Hood and his players.

“To have the people we have tonight drive an hour and 15 minutes says a lot about the pride our people have in the Bobcats,” Hood said. “The monster keeps growing. We’re excited for the fans. We’re excited for the program. This isn’t just about the Lady ‘Cats, it’s about an entire community that has been backing these girls.”

We expect another large crowd to descend upon East Lansing Thursday afternoon and why not?

This is an experience that will be remembered for decades.

The Brandywine school district thinks so as well and will take Thursday off in order to let its students and teachers attend the game.

We wish the Bobcats good luck and no matter what the result turns out to be on Thursday, this has been a magical season for Brandywine.