GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The No. 23 Argos bounced back on Saturday as they powered their way to a 78-66 upset over the No. 17 Lewis-Clark Warriors on Senior Night.
 
Following a pair of losses early in January against the Warriors, the Argos (18-12, 7-11) got the upper hand in the third matchup as they outscored the Warriors (19-10, 9-9) 38-24 during the second-half to secure the victory.
 
The Argos spread the wealth against the Warriors as four tallied double-digit point totals. Parker Esary was an absolute threat in the paint throughout the contest, collecting her 15^th double-double on the season and racking up a team-high 22 points, while also adding 10 boards. Emilee Maldonado, Kenedy Cartwright, and Kerstyn Pimperton joined in on the scoring party netting 15, 14, and 12 points, respectively.
 
The Argos led through the first three and a half minutes of play until a Warrior three tied things up at 11. The Warriors maintained the momentum as they would score seven more unanswered in route to a seven-point lead, 18-11. However, the Argos kicked things into gear over the final four minutes of the period as they outscored the Warriors 13-3, capped off by a buzzer-beating three from Cartwright to lead 24-21 after the opening 10 minutes of play.
 
The Warriors opened the second period with a three to knot things at 24, but a 9-0 Argo run quickly put the Argos back on top, 33-24. The Warriors responded with a run of their own to retake the lead 36-35 and following two ties would take a 42-40 lead at the intermission.
 
The Argos dominated over the final 20 minutes of play, which included a huge performance from Pimperton as she went 4-for-5 from three in the second half. Following a 45-45 tie at the 7:48-minute mark, the Argos would outscore Lewis-Clark 11-4 to take a seven-point lead into the final period, 56-49. The Argos extended their lead to double-digits through the first four minutes of the fourth to lead 63-53. The Argos would lead by as much as 14 with two and a half minutes to play in the contest, 73-59, but the damage had already been done as a 7-5 Warrior run wasn't enough and the Argos would take the win, 78-66.
 
Up Next
The Argos secured the fifth seed in the Frontier Conference Tournament with the victory and will head to Lewiston, Idaho for a rematch with the Lewis-Clark State Warriors on Tuesday, February 26. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. MST (7 p.m. PST).