Southwestern then went on to have its worst quarter of the season and watched the sectional title slip away.

On Sunday night, No. 3 Southwestern had its chance to right the wrongs of last year against the same team in the same arena with the same prize on the line. With the rematch in the back of their mind all season, the Trojans made good on their title quest with a 64-48 victory over the top-seeded Raiders at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

“We have been working to get back here against Eden for the last year,” Southwestern head coach Kay Sirianni said. “Every game we said it’s about beating this team, but it’s about getting better to get to Eden. So it feels great to end with a win this year.”

What killed Southwestern’s chances last year was foul trouble as its top scorer Reece Beaver fouled out in the fourth quarter, which aided the Raiders rally. On Sunday, Beaver stayed in the whole game and even scored 11 of her game-high 25 points in the final quarter.

Southwestern's Madi McIntyre puts up a shot between two Eden defenders. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“This season we have trained so hard, we ran extra sprints for this team specifically,” Beaver said about preparing all season to potentially face Eden in the final. “We needed to make sure we were in great shape for this game, because at Buff State it’s a bigger court. Personally, I really needed to keep in mind that I couldn’t get into foul trouble and I had to play really smart in that third quarter to make sure I wasn’t on the bench.”

While it was extremely important for Beaver to step up and play her part as one of the top scorers in all of Section VI, she received plenty of support from her teammates with seven different Trojans making a basket. Adding the most to the Trojans scoring effort was Madi McIntyre with 12 points. Both Kira Ricker and Braya Beaver had 8 points apiece.

“I thought that we had so many players step up today,” Reece Beaver said about her teammates. “Seniors stepped up, even underclassmen stepped up. I think everybody wanted this game so bad and worked really hard for it and we earned it.”

Eden (19-4) had the lead after the first quarter at 19-18, but that was the last time Southwestern would trail as Reece Beaver scored the first 8 points of the second quarter to give the Trojans a 26-19 lead. Southwestern’s lead would not get much bigger than that, but the same fear of fouls made any lead an uncomfortable one.

That fear of fouls was amplified when Beaver picked up her third with two minutes to play in the first half and McIntyre got into trouble too, eventually picking up her fourth with six minutes to go in the fourth.

Southwestern's Kira Ricker launches a 3-pointer in Sunday's Section VI Class B2 final. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“I panicked, entirely panicked,” Sirianni said about the fouls accumulating. “Those are our big players, we need Madi McIntyre because she’s a threat rebounding, she’s a big post player inside and we need Reece. They just had to play smart and they know how to do it and they showed that they could play clean the rest of the game.”

Any time that it looked like the Trojans would pull away, it was Eden’s Maggie Zittel who would help the Raiders cut the deficit. Zittel finished the game with 24 points and many of them came attacking the basket.

Southwestern (17-5) held a narrow seven-point lead heading into the pivotal fourth quarter and disciplined basketball was needed for the Trojans to clinch the sectional title.

Southwestern flipped the script in the final period this time, limiting the Raiders to single-digit scoring. One of the three girls to score a basket for Eden fouled out.

“One of the things we kind of worked on was mixing up our defenses,” Sirianni said. “We knew that we had to put a ton of pressure on Zittel because she’s an amazing player and she scores”

Southwestern's Bella Sirianni looks to move past Eden's Maggie Zittel during Sunday's Section VI Class B2 final. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

With Southwestern getting killed by fouls last year, Eden was done in by them this year as the Trojans went 19 for 24 from the free-throw line.

The Trojans stayed strong all the way through the fourth quarter. Beaver finished the game with 25 points, five assists and five rebounds, McIntyre ended with her 12 points and nine rebounds, and Bella Sirianni added five assists and five boards.

Southwestern’s victory sets a date in the Class B crossover Wednesday with another school getting revenge in the sectional finals. Depew knocked off Lewiston-Porter 44-30 to claim the B1 title. Depew is 22-2 and is currently ranked No. 5 in the state.

“I think we really have to execute our offenses, even a little better than we did tonight,” Sirianni said about Wednesday’s game against the Wildcats. “They’re a little bit bigger, Kaylee Krysztof is an amazing shooter. So we’re going to have to find a way to limit points on the boards as well.”

SOUTHWESTERN (64)

Southwestern head coach Kay Sirianni talks to her team during a timeout in the Section VI Class B2 final against Eden. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Cobb 0 0 0, RBeaver 9 5 25, Cotter 1 1 3, BBeaver 3 1 8, Sirianni 0 4 4, Hamilton 0 0 0, McIntyre 3 6 12, Pearson 2 0 4, Ricker 2 2 8. Totals 20 19 64.

EDEN (48)

Johnson 6 0 12, Spina 0 0 0, Wray 3 4 12, Zittel 9 4 24, Shaffer 0 0 0, Sargent 0 0 0. Totals 18 8 48.

3-point goals–RBeaver 2, BBeaver, Ricker 2, Wray 2, Zittel 2.

Southwestern 18 16 13 17 — 64

Southwestern head coach Kay Sirianni hugs her daughter Bella after winning the Section VI Class B2 title on Sunday. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Eden 19 10 11 8 — 48

Southwestern head coach Kay Sirianni is flanked by Reece Beaver and Kira Ricker as they accept the plaque for winning the Section VI Class B2 championship. P-J photo by Christian Storms

The Southwestern Trojans girls basketball team poses with the Section VI Class B2 banner. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg