LITTLE ELM - Behind its solid start and three-point shooting, the Argyle Lady Eagles advanced in the playoffs with a 75-51 victory over Anna on Monday night. Allea Harris
Argyle will play Lovejoy in the area round of the Class 3A Region II playoffs at a time and site to be determined.
The Lady Eagles' Allea Harris went 3-of-3 from behind the three-point line, scoring 11 points in the first quarter. Harris stayed hot for the entire game, pacing all scorers with 21 points. But head coach Steve Schmidt wanted her to shoot more.
"When you're shooting like that, you have to keep firing away," Schmidt said. "But she's a very unselfish player. She wanted to make sure she was including her teammates. When she's hitting like that, she definitely changes the offense completely.
Argyle's Barbara-Scott Kolb made up for a slow first quarter by scoring 15 points in the final 24 minutes of the game. Kolb was most crucial in the second half, when Anna (18-12) put pressure on the Lady Eagles (21-11).
In the third quarter, the Lady Coyotes chopped off a large chunk of the deficit. Anna, which made its first playoff appearance since 1989, used a 12-0 run that extended between the third and fourth quarters and got within 17 points of the Lady Eagles before back-to-back jumpers by Kolb.
"At times we kind of freaked out, and we didn't play really smart," Schmidt said. "We had an injury, we had some foul problems, so at least we had some adversity to work through. It wasn't an easy road all the way."
The injury Schmidt referenced occurred with 5:48 to go in the third quarter, when Argyle's Kate Walker collided with another player while the two were fighting for a rebound. Walker slammed to the floor, causing trainers and Schmidt to rush to the floor.
Walker laid on the floor for a few minutes before finally sitting up and walking off the court on her own power. Schmidt said that Walker was "definitely banged up a little bit," and that the team would check with doctors to check on her availability for the team's next game. Walker finished with four points.
The Argyle offense erupted for 44 first-half points as the Lady Eagles took a commanding 44-19 lead at the break.
Dee Moreno and Shantel Ramsey led the Lady Coyotes, scoring 19 and 16 points, respectively. Courtney Gilliland tallied all 10 of her points in the third quarter, in which Anna outscored Argyle 21-16.
Argyle 75, Anna 51
Argyle
27
17
16
15
-
75
Anna
12
7
21
11
-
51
Argyle (21-11) - Barbara Scott-Kolb 15, Miranda Laurion 5, Morgan McInaney 9, Allea Harris 21, Michelle Kuckelman 2, Kim Strelke 6, Kate Walker 4, Madison Eschle 8.
Anna (18-12) - Renee Erwin 7, Shantel Ramsey 16, Dee Moreno 19, Syscily Brown 1, Courtney Gilliland 10.
