FREDONIA — With a spot in the Section VI Class B final on the line, Gianna Sirianni was at her best in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon.

The Trojans’ eighth-grader scored 9 of her 18 points during the final eight minutes as No. 2 Southwestern held off No. 3 Salamanca for a 57-53 win in a sectional semifinal at Fredonia State University’s Dods Hall.

“I am super excited for these girls,” Southwestern head coach Kay Sirianni said. “We have a lot of young players who have never played in a high-pressure game like this. For them to not lose their cool and keep their patience … a coach couldn’t ask for anything more.”

The victory sends the Trojans into Thursday’s 6 p.m. sectional final back at Dods Hall against No. 8 Eden, which topped No. 5 Akron 44-40 in Saturday’s first semifinal. Southwestern will be seeking its 17th sectional title overall, including its eighth in the past 11 years.

“Eden is going to be a great matchup for us,” Coach Sirianni said. “They play a similar game. They like to push the ball like we do and they like to full-court press.”

The Trojans led by six entering the fourth quarter Saturday, but Sirianni eventually pushed that advantage to eight when she hit a 3-pointer with 5:31 left. The Warriors followed with a 6-1 run that made it 47-44 with 3:03 remaining before Charlotte Beaver scored inside to give Southwestern its five-point lead back.

After a Marlana Cresanti free throw made it 50-44, Salamanca’s Makenzie Crouse made a basket and Ella Crouse added a pair of free throws that made it 50-48 with 2:01 left.

Sirianni was unfazed, knocking down a long 3-pointer on the Trojans’ next trip.

“We had some foul trouble. … We kind of lost track here and there,” Salamanca head coach Joe Hinman said of Sirianni’s two fourth-quarter 3-pointers. “The pick-and-roll game with her and Charlotte is a tough combo.”

After the Warriors missed a 3-point attempt, Southwestern eighth-grader Jada Edwards scored to make it a seven-point game, but Salamanca’s own eighth-grader, Arabella Reynolds, answered with a three-point play to make it 55-51 with 1:06 remaining.

Following a Trojans turnover, Warriors freshman Liana Jimerson made a foul shot to make it a one-possession game with 37.8 seconds left.

After a timeout, Southwestern had an opportunity to run the clock down to as few as 6 seconds, but Sirianni found herself open with just under 19 seconds left and knocked down a jumper to make it 57-52.

“A coach never knows. You hope. I’ve seen moments of it throughout the season where I’ve been really impressed with her confidence. In the playoffs, sometimes it’s a different situation,” Coach Sirianni said of her daughter’s growth. “Last year, I think she played like a young player. This year, I’m super proud of her because she played like a seasoned varsity player, which she is.”

Jimerson added a free throw with just over 5 seconds remaining, but Salamanca missed a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer as the Trojans celebrated another trip to the final.

It was hardly a game in the first half, thanks in large part to Edwards, who scored 15 of her game-high 19 points in the opening 16 minutes.

“Jada was who Jada is. That’s the kind of player she is,” Sirianni said. ” … She really helped propel our first-half offense.”

Salamanca didn’t do itself any favors, turning the ball over 19 times, which led to 19 points at the other end for the Trojans.

The 16-point lead Southwestern built — before scoring just 2 points in the third quarter – proved to be enough in the end.

“I felt like it was a tale of two halves, especially the third quarter when we got back in it,” Hinman said. “They hit some deep-range shots … and we didn’t.

“I think it’s going to be us and Southwestern over the next few years here,” Hinman added. “That was Part I.”

NOTES: Charlotte Beaver had 13 points; Cresanti had eight rebounds and seven steals; Edwards had seven rebounds and four steals; and Sirianni had five rebounds and three assists for Southwestern, which shot 21 of 62 from the field, including 8 of 19 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 14 times. … Maliyah Foster had 15 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots while Makenzie Crouse had 10 points and eight rebounds for Salamanca, which shot 17 of 50 from the field, including 1 of 16 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 26 times. … Gabby Koszelak had 12 points and Makenzie Richards had 10 in Eden’s four-point win over Akron. Clara Bogdan led the Tigers with 16 points and Cara Swader had 12.

SALAMANCA (53)

ECrouse 1 2 4, Wass 4 0 8, MCrouse 3 4 10, Galante 0 0 0, Jimerson 3 2 9, Ellis 0 0 0, Earley 0 0 0, Foster 3 9 15, Ross 1 0 2, Reynolds 2 1 5. Totals 17 18 53.

SOUTHWESTERN (57)

Sirianni 6 3 18, Cresanti 2 2 6, Charles 0 0 0, BBeaver 0 1 1, Edwards 8 1 19, CBeaver 5 0 13, Ricker 0 0 0. Totals 21 7 57.

3-point goals-Jimerson, Sirianni 3, Edwards 2, CBeaver 3.

Salamanca 12 11 12 18 – 53

Southwestern 23 16 2 16 – 57

BOYS

SOUTHWESTERN OUSTED

FREDONIA — No. 9 Southwestern trailed for very little time during the opening three quarters of Saturday’s Section VI Class B1 semifinal.

But the Trojans never really built a sustainable lead either.

That came back to bite them in the end.

No. 5 Medina took the lead with 6:40 remaining in the game and never relinquished it on its way to a 62-52 victory at Fredonia State University’s Dods Hall.

“Today’s game plan was all about the 32 minutes as a whole, to keep the tempo up as much as possible with the defense and wear them down over time,” said Medina’s Tom Forrestel, the Mustangs jayvee coach who has served as varsity the coach the past two games after head coach Justin Morgan had surgery on a shoulder injury.

Forrestel added: “They are a great team, but the circumstances of this year are that they are in essence six-deep.”

The win vaults the Mustangs into Wednesday’s 6 p.m. final against No. 2 Olmsted, which beat No. 6 Springville 49-34 in Saturday’s second semifinal. The title game will be back at SUNY Fredonia.

“I personally haven’t watched any of these guys,” Forrestel said just before the Griffins and Owls tipped off. “We’ve got some games on film and we’ll have some firsthand stuff with this game.”

Despite not leading since the game was 23-22 midway through the second quarter, Medina never let the game get away and the Mustangs were rewarded for it.

Trailing by four entering the fourth quarter, Medina outscored Southwestern 22-8 over the final eight minutes. That surge was started by Kolton Fletcher’s banked 3-pointer on the Mustangs second possession of the period.

“Banked 3s,” Forrestel quipped, “they happen once in a while.”

After the Trojans’ Oscar Harris and Medina’s Jayzon Wills traded buckets, Kendrick Russaw gave the Mustangs the lead for good with 6:40 remaining.

Southwestern pulled to within a point two more times in the fourth quarter, but Wills’ free throw with 2:54 left made it 52-50 and Avion Johnson followed with a three-point play – his only basket of the game – to give the Mustangs a five-point lead.

“The and-one was noteworthy because Avi doesn’t necessarily get tons of minutes. We’ve been preaching teamwork and togetherness,” Forrestel said. “You can’t have those moments if your head isn’t in it for the other 31 and a half-minutes. To have him rewarded with that moment is just great.”

Roger Markham later made it a three-point game for the Trojans, but Jerrell Nealy followed with a basket to make it 57-52.

Southwestern then turned the ball over on three of its final five possessions and missed 3-point attempts on its other two as Medina put the game away at the foul line. The Trojans went 0 for 9 from 3-point range and turned the ball over 10 times in the second half.

“I like the shots when they go in,” Southwestern head coach Aaron Emley said when asked about his team’s second-half shot selection. “You can say they’re bad shots, but those guys make those shots. I’m not going to criticize them for the shots they take because I’ve seen them make those shots.”

The finish marked a disappointing end to what figured to be a promising season for Southwestern before football injuries to Bradyn Fuller and Zach Markham left the Trojans playing with a six-man rotation on most nights.

“When you have a six-man rotation and they are rotating 10 or 11 guys, there is a big difference there,” Emley said. “They gave me everything that they possibly could, I just think we ran out of gas a little bit.”

NOTES: Nealy and Preston Woodworth finished with 15 points apiece for Medina, which shot 23 of 53 from the field, including 9 of 27 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 13 times. … Landon Hooks had 18 points for Southwestern, which shot 20 of 48 from the field, including 5 of 22 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 16 times.

SOUTHWESTERN (52)

Harris 3 2 8, Hooks 7 1 18, Edwards 3 0 8, Waite 2 2 6, Markham 3 2 8, Casselman 2 0 4. Totals 20 7 52.

MEDINA (62)

Wills 3 1 7, Woodworth 4 4 15, Batista 1 0 3, Fletcher 1 0 3, Doval 0 0 0, Russaw 4 0 8, Moss 3 0 8, Nealy 6 2 15, Johnson 1 1 3. Totals 23 8 62.

3-point goals–Hooks 3, Edwards 2, Woodworth 3, Batista, Fletcher, Moss 2, Nealy.

Southwestern 14 15 15 8 — 52

Medina 11 13 16 22 — 62