FRISCO -- For Argyle, Friday night's area round playoff game was defined by huge comebacks.
The Lady Eagles trailed by as many as 10 points just minutes into the game against Lovejoy before fighting back, taking their first lead with four minutes left in the game and watching helplessly as Lovejoy erased a seven-point deficit with a minute remaining to advance to the third round of the Class 3A Region II playoffs with a 68-64 win.
"Lovejoy played a great schedule all year and is a team loaded with seniors," Argyle head coach Steve Schmidt said. "I give them credit. Ultimately, we had to fight so hard to stay in the game and fight all the way back, I think it's a natural tendency for teams to breathe a sigh of relief, and we just did that too early."
The Lady Eagles (21-11) took their first lead of the night on a bucket from Madison Eschle during a remarkable performance from the senior forward.
Eschle finished the night with 33 points, including 23 in the second half, and had one stretch where she scored 23 of Argyle's 28 points.
And when she hit one of two foul shots with 1:06 remaining, it put Argyle up 64-57 and put victory within close reach of the Lady Eagles.
But it just wasn't meant to be.
Argyle gave up a 3-pointer to Millie Rivera, her third of the fourth quarter, then gave up the ball on the inbounds pass to put Mikaehla Connor on the line where she made both shots.
Argyle threw away two more inbounds passes and stepped out of bounds to allow Lovejoy to make 6 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds. Rivera led the Lady Leopards with 22 points, and Kathryn Odom scored 14.
When it was all said and done, Lovejoy (25-10) finished the game on an 11-0 run.
"The officials are going to let two teams play it out in this situation, late in the game," Schmidt said. "We just weren't strong enough tonight. We'd like to have those last couple of minutes back."
Eschle scored more than half of her team's points. On the night, she shot 13-of-15 from the foul line and demanded the ball down the stretch, hitting shots from anywhere Lovejoy would leave her open. She did much of it while in foul trouble, picking up her third foul with more than five minutes left in the third quarter and her fourth with almost six minutes remaining in the game.
Yet she stayed in the game until the 2:21 mark, coming out for just a few quick breathers on the defensive end to protect her from fouling out.
"I've seen a few games like that [for an individual]," Schmidt said. "But for her to do that in this big of a game is definitely a testament to her. She felt the need to carry her team on her shoulders at times, and she played her heart out. I'm proud of the whole team's effort, and I'm proud of her."
The Lady Eagles also got a big contribution from sophomore Morgan McInaney, who scored 12 points, including six in the fourth quarter, and senior point guard Barbara-Scott Kolb had 10.
In the end, the rollercoaster feel of the game was a microcosm of a season filled with adversity for the Lady Eagles.
In December, after a 10-game winning streak, they dropped six straight into the beginning of District 9-3A play and dealt with some key injuries.
"We've had adverse situations all throughout the season, on the floor and off," Schmidt said. "I've been really proud of the way we've handled all of that -- the long win streak and the losing streak that seemed like it lasted forever. We never stopped trying to get better.
"It looked like [tonight] we'd get over another big hill against one of the best teams in the state. That last minute shouldn't reflect what we've accomplished this season."
ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com.
Lovejoy 68, Argyle 64
Argyle 9 18 17 20 -- 64
Lovejoy 14 16 19 19 -- 68
Argyle (21-11) -- Barbara Scott-Kolb 10, Miranda Laurion 2, Morgan McInaney 12, Kim Strelke 4, Allea Harris 3, Madison Eschle 33.
Lovejoy (25-10) -- Kathryn Odom 14, Katherine McBride 8, Shani Rainey 11, Millie Rivera 22, Katie Campbell 3, Mikaehla Connor 6, Courtney Smith 4.
