The Lady Eagle basketball team finished their season 26-7 Feb. 22 in the first game of the 4A Region 1 Tournament.

The team played Argyle, the defending four-time 4A state champions, at Lubbock Christian University’s gymnasium, the Rip Griffin Center. Prior to the playoffs, the Lady Eagles finished their district season 8-0.

“In district, we knew we were going to play some lower competition, so our coaches would always tell us that it didn’t matter,” junior Carter Cluck said. “They would say every game is a new game, and everyone wanted to beat us no matter what. Each team was ready to come out to play us.”

The district season started after Christmas break for the Lady Eagles, who played each of the four other teams twice.

“Every game in district was different to prepare for because each team had good players, so we really had to work on match-ups,” Cluck said. “We pretty much had to show out every game to solidify our district standing.”

Every year Coach Joe Lombard takes the team to the Springcreek Mansfield tournament following Christmas day.

“After our tournament over Christmas break in Mansfield, we had tremendous improvement in our season,” Cluck said. “Looking back and realizing how far we’ve come throughout the season makes me excited for the potential we have for next year.”

At the Coaches vs. Cancer games on senior night, both boys and girls teams played the Levelland Lobos in a district match-up.

“The most memorable moment this year would be when we played Levelland at home, played a tight game and won by one point,” Cluck said. “We pulled it out at the end, and that was great to see all the fans in the stands go crazy.”

The Lady Eagles lost six of the first 22 games before district started.

“At the beginning of the season, we didn’t really play together,” sophomore Carissa Love said. “It was more like the seniors and juniors and sophomores and freshmen doing their own thing, but by the end of the season, though, we found a way to come together.”