Southwestern head coach Kay Sirianni, assistant coach Jay Sirianni and the Trojans bench celebrate after the final buzzer of their Class B Far West Regional win over Hornell on Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

CANANDAIGUA — After a half of action at the Class B Far West Regionals, the Southwestern girls basketball team was playing its worst game of the year in the biggest moment with a trip to states on the line.

The Trojans were trailing 21-7 after the first quarter and then 42-26 at halftime. Section V’s Hornell had Southwestern on the ropes, but the Trojans very quickly turned the worst game of the season into the best in program history.

What sparked the turnaround was the one constant in the game, Reece Beaver playing the very best she ever has.

The Trojans caught fire for the entire second half with Beaver leading the charge. A 19-5 run to start the third quarter brought Southwestern close, then with 1:16 left in the quarter Beaver gave Southwestern its first lead of the game as she banked in 3-pointer making it 48-47.

That was just one of many big shots by Beaver, but the biggest came in the final possession when she took the inbound pass with 16.5 seconds remaining in the game. Beaver dazzled her defender with flashy dribbling to wind down the clock before making her move to the basket and with 2.2 seconds Beaver cut to the basket to lay in the game-winning shot for a 63-61 victory Saturday at Finger Lakes Community College.

The Southwestern Trojans are pictured with their Class B Far West Regional champions plaque after Saturday's win over Hornell at Finger Lakes Community College. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“I don’t even know, because I’m so excited,” Southwestern head coach Kay Sirianni said what was going through her mind after the Trojans advanced to states. “This is a dream come true, we talked about a dream before and how it was attainable for us. It came true, I couldn’t be happier right now.”

Beaver, the Southwestern senior and all-time leading scorer in Chautauqua County history, finished with a career-high 42 points to win the first New York State Public High School Athletic Association Far West Regional in program history, thus advancing into the state final four in Class B.

“For me, this has been a dream of mine since I was little going in and shooting with her (coach Sirianni) in my middle school basketball shorts,” Beaver said about making states. “It is so surreal right now, I feel like I could cry. I am so happy. It doesn’t even feel real, it doesn’t.”

The most points Southwestern had given up during its playoff run through Section VI was 43 to Portville in the crossover. After just one half Saturday, Hornell nearly matched that with 42.

Beaver scored every Southwestern point in the first quarter and she was finally joined in the scorebook by Bella Sirianni in the second, who added 6 to Beaver’s 20 for the half.

Southwestern's Reece Beaver puts up the game-winning shot as the Trojans beat Hornell in the Class B Far West Regional at Finger Lakes Community College on Saturday. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“It’s about confidence and believing in the team,” Sirianni said is what changed at halftime. “We feel like the first half we played a little bit scared. Offensively, we were a little bit nervous to create shot opportunities, but at halftime we said we’ve got to come back, we’ve got to mix up our defenses a little bit more and we all have to look to take it to the hoop. We knew the game wasn’t over, we started the second half 0-0 and we went in like it was the start of the first quarter.”

After the break, the whole Southwestern team came alive with Braya Beaver, Madi McIntyre and Sirianni all hitting field goals, and the team defense elevated as it limited the Red Raiders to 7 points in the third quarter.

“We knew our defense wasn’t the greatest in the first half, so you’ve got to go into the second half changing something,” Sirianni said. “We tried a different zone in the second half and it worked a little bit better for us. I think that and we also talked a little bit about different coverages and we switched up some defense man-to-man.”

In the second half, Southwestern limited Hornell’s Raegan Evingham to just 4 points after she scored 16 in the first two quarters. On top of that, Southwestern attacked the glass well to end possessions. For the game, McIntyre reeled in 13 rebounds, while Lauren Cotter, Ellie Pearson and Sirianni grabbed four apiece.

Hornell led by a point, 49-48, going into the final quarter, but as the Red Raiders got deeper into foul trouble and Beaver not looking to slow down anytime soon, it looked like Southwestern would make history.

Southwestern's Maddie McIntyre puts up a shot during Saturday's Class B Far West Regional against Hornell at Finger Lakes Community College. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Selena Maldonado made it interesting as she tied the game with a pair of free throws in the final 30 seconds, but all that did was put the ball in Beaver’s hands with the game on the line.

A point back of her career high of 41, Beaver set a new high of 42, laying in the most crucial basket of her career to seal the 63-61 victory.

“Reece is key for us,” Sirianni stated. “We’ve always talked about her leadership and throughout the season talked about how we need to keep our composure. Reece can keep her composure even in a game like that where we’re down by 15, 18 points, come back in the second half and Reece doesn’t change her game. Her game is if she has the open drive she takes it, if she has the pass she’ll do that too and when it comes down to that last layup there is nobody else on the team I’d rather have the ball in their hands except for Reece.”

The Trojans season will continue at the state final four against Section II’s Albany Academy for Girls on Friday at 9 a.m. at Hudson Valley Community College.

“Honestly, I just play what they give me and I was getting a lot of open shots, a lot of open drives,” Beaver said about her huge performance. “I was just feeling it tonight. I went into this game thinking I didn’t want it to be my last game and just trying to make it count.”

“It means so much,” Beaver added. “If any of my teams of my years on varsity were to make it, this team I would choose 100 times over. I’m so proud of us, we love each other and care about each other so much. Clearly we play very well together, we’ve drastically improved since the beginning of the season.”

SOUTHWESTERN (63)

CBeaver 0 0 0, RBeaver 17 3 42, 0 0 0, BBeaver 2 0 5, Sirianni 3 2 9, Barone 0 0 0, McIntyre 3 1 7, Pearson 0 0 0, Lewis 0 0 0, Cresanti 0 0 0, Stutzman 0 0 0, Genareo 0 0 0. Totals 25 6 63.

HORNELL (61)

Smith 0 0 0, Nasca 2 0 5, Hoyt 2 0 6, Bentley 4 2 10, Maldonado 5 2 12, Ervingham 9 0 20, Gollnitz 4 0 8. Totals 26 4 61.

3-point goals–RBeaver 5, Sirianni, Nasca, Hoyt 2, Ervingham 2.

Southwestern 7 19 22 15 — 63

Hornell 21 21 7 12 — 61