The 1990–91 Lady Piasa Birds produced a historic season, finishing 28–3 and earning third place in the IHSA Class A State Basketball Tournament. Led by head coach Merv Cruthis, Southwestern won the Macoupin County, regional, sectional, and super-sectional championships on its way to the State Final Four.
Southwestern reached the State Final Four after defeating Williamsville in super-sectional competition at Carlinville High School.
The Lady Piasa Birds defeated Leland in the state quarterfinals, lost to Seneca in the semifinals, and defeated Elgin St. Edward, 70–57, in the third-place game.
Southwestern 53, Leland 47
Victory in the original Southwestern archive. The IHSA records the score as 54–47 in double overtime.
Seneca 65, Southwestern 56
Southwestern's state championship pursuit ended with a semifinal loss to Seneca.
Southwestern 70, Elgin St. Edward 57
The Lady Piasa Birds closed their season with a victory and the Class A third-place trophy.
The 31 game results in the original season archive reconcile exactly with the 28–3 record. Southwestern also is recognized as the 1991 South Central Conference champion in the program's historical records.
All 31 documented contests are listed in their original archive order. The higher score appears first, while W/L identifies Southwestern's result. Individual dates and home/away sites are not provided except where tournament locations are identified.
| Game | Opponent | W/L | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Games · Original Archive Order | ||||
| 01 | Jerseyville | W | 59–47 | — |
| 02 | Carrollton | W | 59–54 | — |
| 03 | Bunker Hill | W | 72–35 | — |
| 04 | East St. Louis Lincoln | L | 66–47 | — |
| 05 | North Greene | W | 63–29 | — |
| 06 | Calhoun | W | 74–40 | — |
| 07 | Civic Memorial | W | 57–43 | — |
| 08 | Gillespie | W | 74–22 | — |
| 09 | Carlinville | W | 62–31 | — |
| 10 | Staunton | W | 60–31 | — |
| 11 | Triad | W | 62–43 | — |
| 12 | Litchfield | W | 64–51 | — |
| 13 | Gillespie | W | 59–15 | — |
| 14 | Teutopolis | W | 55–50 | — |
| 15 | Carlinville | W | 63–30 | — |
| 16 | Staunton | W | 71–41 | — |
| 17 | Triad | W | 58–49 | — |
| 18 | Litchfield | W | 52–41 | — |
| Carlinville Christmas Tournament | ||||
| 19 | Bunker Hill | W | 67–29 | Christmas Tournament |
| 20 | Litchfield | W | 55–42 | Christmas Tournament |
| 21 | Jerseyville | L | 60–51 | Christmas Tournament |
| Macoupin County Tournament · Champions | ||||
| 22 | Bunker Hill | W | 74–34 | County Tournament |
| 23 | Staunton | W | 69–37 | County Tournament |
| IHSA Class A Regional · Champions | ||||
| 24 | Bunker Hill | W | 84–43 | IHSA Regional |
| 25 | Staunton | W | 58–34 | IHSA Regional |
| IHSA Class A Sectional · Champions | ||||
| 26 | Marquette | W | 52–28 | IHSA Sectional |
| 27 | Pittsfield | W | 56–40 | IHSA Sectional |
| IHSA Super-Sectional · Carlinville H.S. | ||||
| 28 | Williamsville | W | 67–58 | Super-Sectional Championship |
| IHSA Class A State Finals | ||||
| 29 | Leland | W | 54–47 | Quarterfinal · 2 OT |
| 30 | Seneca | L | 65–56 | State Semifinal |
| 31 | Elgin St. Edward | W | 70–57 | Third-Place Game |
IHSA Official Girls Basketball State Tournament Scores
In Southwestern's records, * and + identify conference games. Individual conference game designations are not supplied in this season's schedule.
Fourteen players with their jersey numbers are listed in the original archive. Class years were not provided in the source.
| Number | Player |
|---|---|
| 35 | Becky Watson |
| 30 | Carrie Bierman |
| 21 | Karen Heyen |
| 23 | Kim Tandy |
| 10 | Kelly Reno |
| 24 | Theresa Hopkins |
| 20 | Christy Bacon |
| 15 | Erin Gregory |
| 22 | Vicki Kahl |
| 34 | Amy Garrett |
| 40 | Cheryl Stinchfield |
| 32 | Shannon McKee |
| 14 | Lisa Watson |
| 11 | Becky Quigley |
Merv Cruthis
Second Season
Gary Bowker
Nathan Hindley
Jennifer Kallal
Matt Hasquin
Southwestern defeated Bunker Hill, 74–34, and Staunton, 69–37, in the two county tournament games recorded in the archive. The program's historical records identify Southwestern as champion.
The Lady Piasa Birds defeated Bunker Hill, 84–43, and Staunton, 58–34, to advance to sectional competition.
Southwestern defeated Marquette, 52–28, and Pittsfield, 56–40, to capture the Class A sectional championship.
At Carlinville High School, Southwestern defeated Williamsville, 67–58, earning a berth in the 1991 Class A State Finals.
The 1990–91 Lady Piasa Birds earned the program's first IHSA state basketball trophy, finishing third in Class A.
Cruthis led Southwestern to a 28–3 finish after a 23–4 season in 1989–90. His two seasons as head coach produced a combined 51–7 record.
Southwestern defeated Gillespie, 74–22, for a 52-point victory, the largest margin among its documented results.
Southwestern's only documented defeats came against East St. Louis Lincoln, Jerseyville, and Seneca.
Southwestern recorded a 55–50 victory over Teutopolis during the season.
Southwestern's program history identifies the 1990–91 team as South Central Conference champions. No specific conference record is supplied on the season page.
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