That was just one of a number of special nights for the Southwestern senior this year.

Perhaps what will go down as the most memorable game in Beaver’s six-year Trojans career came March 9 at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua. That afternoon, the daughter of Chad and Ashley Beaver broke a Southwestern girls record by pouring in 42 points as the Trojans rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to defeat Section V champion Hornell 63-61 to advance to the first New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four in program history.

Tied at 61-all, Southwestern inbounded with 16.5 seconds remaining before Beaver scored inside with 2.2 seconds left to give her team the lead. After a timeout, Hornell turned the ball over and the Trojans booked their trip to the Capital Region.

In 26 games played this season, Beaver was held below 20 points just three times.

Reece Beaver was named the CCAA Division 1 West Player of the Year for her final three seasons at Southwestern and was The Post-Journal/OBSERVER Player of the Year in 2022 prior to winning it again this year. P-J file photo by Tim Frank

She opened her season with 27 points against Class AA Clarence at Jamestown High School before being held to 17 against eventual Class C state semifinalist Frewsburg.

At home against Hamburg, she followed that up with a 39-point outburst before scoring 28 against eventual Section VI Class D champion Panama.

Beaver then exploded for 40 points — one off her then-career high — in a nonleague loss to Portville. In her next four games, Beaver scored 26, 24, 25 and 28 points, respectively, and during the 25-point home showing against Portville, she eclipsed 2,000 points for her career.

After a 19-point outing vs. Allegany-Limestone, six more 20-plus-point games followed before she turned in 33 points at home against Fredonia.

She closed out the regular season with performances of 28, 32 and 36 points. The middle game helped Southwestern clinch the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West title outright.

In the Section VI Class B1 postseason, Beaver scored 21 points in a quarterfinal victory over Fredonia, 25 points in a semifinal win over Akron at Kenmore West High School and 24 points in the sectional final against East Aurora at Buffalo State University to lead the Trojans to their 16th title.

Southwestern locked up its second trip to the Class B Far West Regionals when Beaver scored 18 points in a 58-43 crossover game victory over Portville.

Her historic performance against Hornell sent the Trojans to Troy for the first time ever, but at Hudson Valley Community College, Beaver’s 22 points were not enough to take down Albany Academy in the state semifinals.

All told, the Daemen University-bound guard accounted for 42.6% of Southwestern’s points this season while also averaging 4.3 assists, 3.5 steals and 2.7 rebounds per game.

She will graduate with eight of the top 12 scoring games in Southwestern girls basketball history, reaching 40 points three times in the past two seasons, and her 2,463 points are 231 more than second-place Abby Rice of Silver Creek.

A three-time CCAA Division 1 West Player of the Year, Beaver is now the 2024 Post-Journal/OBSERVER Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second time, having also won the award in 2022.