JUSTIN — Nothing seemed to be going Argyle’s way late in the fourth quarter of its Class 3A Region I quarterfinal game against Decatur on Tuesday when Amy Beecher decided to take a bit of a risk.

DRC/Al Key

Argyle’s Emma Forrer, right, and Brittany O’Brien, left, battle Decatur’s Kelsey Hayes for the ball during a Class 3A Region I quarterfinal Tuesday in Justin. Argyle won 40-38. Click here for more photos.

Beecher let a 3-pointer from the top of the arc fly with just under three minutes left and the score tied. When the ball hit nothing but net, Argyle was on its way to a 40-38 win that sends it back to the regional tournament for the second straight season.

“Most of us didn’t get to play in regionals last year,” Argyle guard Colbea Harris said. “We were all underclassmen. We don’t have any seniors, so we were the underdogs all year. We shocked everyone by making it back to regionals. We shocked ourselves.”

It was Beecher’s shot that proved to be the critical play that sent Argyle (25-8) back to the regional at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock.

Decatur went on a 4-0 run to tie the game at 36 when Argyle called a timeout with 3:26 left. Argyle ran through its offense, but never was able to get the ball inside before Beecher got the ball at the top of the key.

“We never got anything inside,” Beecher said. “I just went for it.”

Beecher’s second 3-pointer of the game gave Argyle a lead it milked for the remainder of the game. Argyle held on to the ball for more than a minute after a Decatur miss, before finally turning it over at the 1:26 mark

Decatur (21-14) took advantage when J.T. Addington took the ball to the basket, drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws to cut its deficit to 39-38. Decatur was forced to foul in the final minute, which gave Argyle several opportunities to put the game away at the free-throw line.

Argyle nearly gave the game away by missing the front end of two one-and-one opportunities. Jessica Bonfield missed the front end on one of those trips to the line, but made up for it by hitting one of two free throws with 29 seconds left.

“We usually hit most of our free throws,” Harris said. “Tonight we had a tough time with the crowd. It was really loud.”

Argyle made up for those misses with some tough defense down the stretch. Decatur scored just six points in the fourth quarter.

Argyle coach Steve Schmidt called a timeout at the 2:41 mark after Beecher hit her 3-pointer to set up his team’s defense. Decatur’s only points the rest of the way came on Addington’s free throws.

Lacey Oats led Decatur with 16 points, but had just two in the fourth quarter. Harris led Argyle with 16.

“We played really well defensively in the last few minutes,” Schmidt said. “Oats is a great player, but we buckled down and got a stop when we had to.”

Argyle’s defense in the closing minutes helped Schmidt’s team hold off Decatur in a grudge match between the District 8-3A rivals, which split their regular season series.

Argyle won the critical third game thanks in large part to Beecher’s 3-pointer.

“I don’t know if that was a good shot at that point of the game,” Schmidt said. “But she’s a good shooter. She’s hit some big ones for us this year.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

Argyle 40, Decatur 38

Decatur — J.T Addington 5, Candace Clayton 2, Lacey Oates 16, Mercy Stanley 4, Lauren Spence 9, Kelsey Hayes 2.

Argyle — Amy Beecher 6, Emma Forrer 3, Jessica Bonfield 6, Colbea Harris 16, Claire Pettibon 7, Brittany O’Brien 2.