(3-21-24) Brandywine (26-1) will play for the MHSAA D3 State Girls Basketball Championship Title on Saturday after beating Lake City (25-3) 52-39 at the Breslin Center…with a chance to match what the Bobcat boys did on Saturday.

The key to the Brandywine win was playing an effective triangle and two defense against Lake City’s big kids…MacKenzie Bisballe, a 6-foot-1 forward and Wisconsin commit Alison Bisballe, a 6-foot-4 forward.

Lake City head coach Bill Tisron said after the game about the Bobcat zone..

“It wasn’t completely brand new, but they ran it really well,. Their starting five has very athletic girls. They executed it well, and we just couldn’t get shots to fall early.”

The Bobcats went 10 of 23 from 3-point range and were led by Miley Young (Jr) with 16 points, and Kadence Brumitt (Sr) added 11.

Arbor Prep will be trying to win their 2nd state title in the past three years…but what they remember the most was their loss last year in the Region Final…after that loss the goal was to come back and win the title this year.

Arbor Prep Stephanie Utomi (Sr) said after the win...

“Our warm-up shirts say, ‘Unfinished Business’. We take it personal. We knew from the start of the season — which is June for us — we knew what the goal was. We knew we wanted to get back here. It was a sour taste and it hurt a lot, to say the least. We wanted to go back-to-back. To be here, it’s everything. But the job’s not done.”

Leading the Gators in the win 52-30 over unranked Lutheran Northwest was Taylor Wallace (Sr) who had 14 points, Stephanie Utomi scored 11 and Stacy Utomi (Sr) added 10 points and nine rebounds. 

Arbor Prep (24-4) will look for its second championship in three years when it meets Brandywine (26-1) in the Division 3 Final at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Breslin Center.