The height listed for Makenna Hartline on the Brandywine girls basketball roster is 5-foot-10.

Hartline thinks she’s 5-foot-9.

Either way, Hartline’s growth spurt has benefited the Bobcats, who rely on Hartline and her teammates to score effectively in the paint and on the perimeter.

Hartline showed off her post moves on Tuesday in Brandywine’s 82-48 win over Berrien Springs. The junior standout, who was 5-foot-6 as a freshman, scored a career-high 30 points with most of those points coming close to the basket.

“Makenna has done a great job scoring for us, but she would be the first to say that her teammates are doing a really nice job of getting her the ball,” said Brandywine girls basketball coach Josh Hood.

“Nobody on this team is concerned about who is scoring. That’s why this program has been successful. This program is concerned about winning. We pride ourselves on balance and we’ve been balanced this season.”

That balance and group contributions on offense and defense helped the Bobcats beat the Shamrocks and is a big reason Brandywine is 7-0.

Against Berrien Springs, Brooke Smith scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds, Jaleesa Garner added 11 points and seven steals, Emily Erwin pulled down six rebounds, Michaela Hartline had six steals and the bench foursome of Alyssa Bolen, Makena Bowen, Rachael Szilagyi and Cassie Luczkowski totaled 16 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Brandywine, which never trailed, shot 62 percent (33-of-53) from the field and forced 33 turnovers.

“You saw a team that was fresh and hungry and having fun on the court,” Hood said. “They played pretty well.

“It’s exciting to play the way we did (against Berrien Springs). I’m really proud of the whole effort. All nine girls did a nice job of contributing.”

Makenna is averaging 16 points and nine rebounds a game, but she’s not into personal stats. After the Berrien Springs game, Makenna didn’t know her point total.

“I don’t pay attention to how many points I’ve scored,” Makenna said.

“My teammates looked inside for me and gave me the ball.

“Me and Brooke knew we would be open inside with our size advantage so we were pretty confident that we would do well.”

Despite being 7-0, the win over the Shamrocks had a different feel surrounding it.

“We haven’t been having that much fun,” Makenna said. “We talked about having fun during practices. We came out (against Berrien Springs) and had fun and did things like chest bump each other.”
Hood wasn’t even too upset when Makenna fouled Berrien Springs’ Micah McCree during a 3-point attempt in the third quarter.

“I felt that I barely touched her,” Makenna said. “I think (Hood) is trying to be more positive and not yell at us as much.”