After star scorer Erin Radack graduated, Southwestern struggled to find its rhythm early on in 2020. Even by the end of the regular season, Southwestern had as many losses as wins and needed to pull off multiple upsets to claim the throne the Lady Trojans have called home in recent history.

Sunday afternoon, the improbable run was capped off in grand fashion, leaving smiles on the faces of the girls from Lakewood and three fingers in the air while holding yet another banner.

“It says this group is a consummate group of 12 kids, completely unselfish, all trying to help each other,” said Southwestern coach Dave Turnbull. “This one was special. The only people who thought we could three-peat are the 12 girls on this team and the coaching staff. It tells you what a little bit of hard work and some belief in one another can do for a team – and I love them for it.”

The Southwestern Lady Trojans defeated the Eden Lady Raiders 54-44 to claim a third straight Section VI, Class B2 girls basketball championship banner, at Buffalo State College.

OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Southwestern’s Gianna Hoose smiles after receiving her Section VI championship patch and t-shirt after Sunday’s Section VI, Class B2 girls basketball championship game at Buffalo State College.

Southwestern (14-10, 5-seed) found itself in a battle early on. Eden (17-6, 2-seed) responded to an early 8-2 hole with the next seven points to take a 9-8 lead. Southwestern capped off the scoring in the first quarter with a bucket from Sofia Genareo to take a 10-9 lead into the second quarter.

It took until the final basket of the second quarter for the two teams to be separated by more than a possession. After a 17-all tie on the board, Genareo drilled a 3-pointer with 2:03 left in the half for a Southwestern lead, then Allison Lundmark followed later in the period with a pair from the free-throw line to lead 22-17. Eden’s Rachel Wach had a pair of blocks on the final possession of the half to keep Southwestern’s lead at just five points at halftime in a defensive battle.

“We take great pride in our defense,” said Turnbull. “You can control how hard you play defensively. Offense comes and goes, but conditioning and defense are some things we have some control over.”

After Eden scored on the first two possessions of the second half, the score was back within a point, 22-21. Eden missed a pair from the free-throw line that could have taken the lead, and from then on, the rest of the quarter was all Southwestern.

The Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Raiders 18-6 the rest of the period, capped off by a Lundmark buzzer-beater. It was 40-27 after three quarters, and in the final frame, Eden never got closer than six points behind the Lady Trojans.

Lundmark, who was also the Character Award winner in Sunday’s contest, led Southwestern with 16 points.

Reece Beaver, an eighth grader in her second season for the Lady Trojans, contributed 14 points.

“She is unflappable. … She was very comfortable today and it showed on the floor,” said Turnbull. “She’s a special player and a special kid.”

Genareo had 11 points, while Gianna Hoose had eight points and Kyra Ricker added five points.

Eden was led by Brooke Woodard with 15 points, while Rachel Wach added 13 points.

The number three doesn’t just represent the amount of consecutive Sectional Championships Southwestern has after Sunday’s victory. Three also represents the amount of time the Lady Trojans face off with the Dunkirk Lady Marauders. After claiming the program’s first Sectional Championship since 1991, Dunkirk will play Southwestern back at Buffalo State College on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Class B1/B2 crossover game. The winner will advance to the Far West Regional at Section VI on Saturday with a trip to the State Final Four on the line.

Dunkirk won each of the first two meetings in the regular season, with a Kymi Nance buzzer-beating 3-pointer as the difference in Dunkirk on Jan. 6, 78-75. Dunkirk won at Southwestern on Feb. 4, 71-60.

“We had a five-point lead at Dunkirk inside the final 40 seconds. … We were hoping we’d get back here to get a third shot at them. I think it will be a real fun game on Wednesday night,” said Turnbull.