Veteran Edinburgh squad ends Southwestern's season at Sectional 59

Southwestern’s first meeting with Edinburgh started with a disaster. The Lancers raced out to a 27-0 lead on Jan. 23 and cruised to a 30-point Mid-Hoosier Conference victory.

In the rematch Tuesday in the first game of Class A, Sectional 59 at Waldron High School, the Spartans frustrated Edinburgh early, won the second quarter and went to halftime with momentum while trailing 20-15.

A wing three-pointer from Kinzie Purvis sparked a 9-0 run early in the third quarter for Edinburgh and the Southwestern turnovers started piling up resulting in a 43-28 victory for the Lancers.

Purvis finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Joy Turner hit three 3s and had 11 points. Kenna Streeval scored 12 of her game-high 17 points in the second half to get Edinburgh into Friday’s semifinal round.

A high-volume 3-point shooting team (508 attempts this season), Edinburgh made 3-of-6 long-range shots in the opening quarter Tuesday but could not bury the Spartans. Turner and Streeval went 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in the second quarter and frustration led to fouls.

That resulted in the Spartans making 10 trips to the free-throw line in the quarter. Southwestern made four of those attempts but added field goals by Claire Utley, Bryla Dunbar and Maddie Barlow to outscore the Lancers, 10-6.

Edinburgh started four seniors and a junior and that experience capitalized on a young and inexperienced Southwestern roster. The Spartans committed 36 turnovers in the loss and only took 32 shots in the game.

Utley, the lone senior on the roster, finished with three points, six rebounds and three steals in her final game.

Dunbar, a freshman, led the Spartans with eight points. Barlow, a sophomore, hit a fourth quarter 3 and finished with five points. Callie Beck, another sophomore, had four points.

Southwestern finished 3-19 in head coach Jason West’s fifth season. It is the third straight 3-win season for the Spartans, but the program is growing.

The bulk of this year’s roster were sophomores and freshmen. There is a large eighth-grade squad prepared to move up next season and younger squads are finding success.

Edinburgh improved to 13-9. The Lancers have already secured their first winning season since 2020. The current senior class was part of a 3-win team in 2024 that improved to 10-13 last season.

The Lancers will face Knightstown (15-7) Friday at 6 p.m. in the first Sectional 59 semifinal game at Waldron.

The Panthers defeated the Lancers, 57-35, on Dec. 6 of this season.

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