×

Studying Up

Trojans Advance To Class B2 Finals Against No. 1 Eden

Southwestern’s Madi McIntyre (21) lines up a shot against Royalton-Hartland during the Section VI Class B2 semifinal basketball game at Kenmore West High School on Tuesday. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

BUFFALO — Southwestern did a fine job on its Section VI Class B2 semifinal homework Tuesday evening.

The Trojans’ real test comes Sunday.

Sophomore Reece Beaver scored 22 points, picked up five steals and handed out three assists while senior Ellie Lawton had 16 points, six assists and four steals as No. 3 Southwestern coasted past No. 10 Royalton-Hartland 66-42 at Kenmore West High School.

“This was that game where you’re nervous, and for girls who had never played in a playoff game, it was really good for them to get that experience to get those jitters out on a different court,” Southwestern head coach Kay Sirianni said. “It was an opportunity to run through some of our offenses and some of our presses to get ready for that game on Sunday.”

Next up for the Trojans is an 11 a.m. Sunday date with No. 1 Eden at the Buffalo State College Sports Arena. The Raiders beat No. 4 Olmsted 71-30 in Tuesday’s second semifinal.

Southwestern’s Ellie Lawton drives for a layup against Royalton-Hartland during Tuesday’s Section VI Class B2 semifinal at Kenmore West High School. P-J photo by Scott Reagle

“Eden is good,” Sirianni said. “They have two girls who are really tough from the outside.”

A quick start was key for Southwestern against the Rams.

Beaver scored 13 points during a 27-16 first quarter. She converted a three-point play, junior Kira Ricker added a 3-pointer and freshman Bella Sirianni found Lawton open for a bucket as the Trojans led 8-0 right off the bat.

“Reece, we always rely on heavily because she runs our offenses and runs the show for us. Without her and her 20 points, it’s hard to win games,” Coach Sirianni said. “We need her to stay out of foul trouble, stay healthy and make her 3-point shots.”

Sirianni added a 3-pointer of her own to start another 8-0 run that made it 23-9 before Royalton-Hartland started to find its offense.

“Bella is another one we rely on to give us a couple of those outside shots and to handle the ball when Reece has a lot of pressure on her,” Coach Sirianni said. “If she’s not scoring a few points, again, that’s going to be harmful to our offense.”

A poor offensive second quarter from both teams allowed Southwestern to maintain an eight-point lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

“We just couldn’t keep up the intensity,” Coach Sirianni said. “In the second quarter, you could see that.”

As they did in the first quarter, the Trojans had an efficient start to the third quarter as Beaver hit a 3-pointer before sophomore Maddie McIntyre added back-to-back buckets in the lane to push Southwestern’s lead up to 15.

“Maddie is going to have to play well and stay out of foul trouble. That’s going to be big for her,” Coach Sirianni said of Sunday’s matchup with the Raiders. “She’s been playing better every game. If she can continue to improve, we’re going to need her on the inside.”

Junior Leeya Riley hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Trojans into the final eight minutes with a 54-32 lead.

McIntyre scored to start the fourth quarter and Lawton added a second-chance basket before Lawton found McIntyre open on a fast break to push the margin up to 28 early in the fourth quarter.

“Ellie is a big player for us because she does a lot of things. She sees the floor really well, she can handle the ball, she fast breaks well, she is just an all-around player. She is one of our best defenders as well,” Coach Sirianni said. “Without her, whether it’s 8 points or 16 points, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

The Rams would not get closer than 24 the rest of the way.

“Ellie Lawton played a big game tonight for us and Maddie McIntyre,” Coach Sirianni said, ” … they were the catalysts that really kind of drove that in the third and fourth quarters to get some big shots for us at the right time.”

NOTES: McIntyre finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for Southwestern, which shot 23 of 59 (39.0%) from the field, including 7 of 23 (30.4%) from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 21 times. … Kaitlin Mettler scored 13 points and Ava Owens had 9 for Royalton-Hartland, which shot 17 of 59 (28.8%) from the field, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 21 times.

ROYALTON-HARTLAND (42)

Choate 1 1 3, Hiller 0 0 0, Brigham 1 1 3, Owens 4 0 9, Buscarino 0 1 1, Eisenhower 1 0 2, Rhinehart 2 1 5, Halsted 3 0 6, Terwiliger 0 0 0, Mettler 5 2 13. Totals 17 6 42.

SOUTHWESTERN (66)

Cobb 0 0 0, Beaver 8 3 22, ELawton 4 8 16, ALawton 0 0 0, Sirianni 2 0 6, Riley 2 0 5, McIntyre 6 2 14, Engdahl 0 0 0, Ricker 1 0 3. Totals 23 13 66.

3-point goals–Owens, Mettler, Beaver 3, Sirianni 2, Riley, Ricker.

Royalton-Hartland 16 9 8 9 — 42

Southwestern 27 6 21 12 – 66

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today