ALEXANDRIA, La. – The University of Providence women's basketball team had their historic season come to an end on Friday with a loss 73-70 loss to Talladega in the 2022 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Opening Round presented by Ballogy.

Down by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter, the Argos (25-7, 12-3) stormed back, cutting the score to 70-68 off a layup from Emilee Maldonado with 1:19 remaining. The Tornadoes (21-11, 10-7) extended the lead to four on the ensuing possession, but Parker Esary made a layup while getting fouled to go to the line down two with 45 seconds left.

Esary missed the free throw, but Maddy Dixon got the offensive rebound to give the Argos another chance. The team turned it over, giving the ball back to the Tornadoes with 39 seconds left. Maldonado got a steal on the other end, but the Argos couldn't convert. The Tornadoes went one-of-two from the free throw line to give the Argos a chance with one second remaining, but a contested Maldonado three-pointer didn't fall.

"It was a tough loss," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "We're really proud of our kids and how they fought to the very end. We had a shot at the buzzer to send it into overtime but we couldn't get it done."

The Argos struggled from beyond the arc, finishing 3-of-21 from downtown. The Tornadoes meanwhile hit seven of their 21 attempts. Maldonado led the way for the Argos, finishing with 23 points, six assists, six rebounds and four steals. Esary had a dominant performance as well, going 8-of-11 from the field to finish with 20 points and nine rebounds. Brooklyn Harn added 13 points off the bench while Reed Hazard recorded 10.

Sydni Tears led the Tornadoes with 15 points while Kameron Shelley and Tierra Tulis added 11. Ayasha Thomas finished with 10 points.

The loss concludes the season for the Argos, whose 25 wins set the program record for most wins in program history. The team also shared the Frontier Conference regular season title with Rocky Mountain College -  the first regular season title the team has had since the 1980-81 season.

"I'm really proud of our season and the record that we had," Himmelberg said. "It's disappointing for the season to end the way it did but only one team gets to end their season with a win. Unfortunately, it wasn't us this year. We knew we had a team that could go on a run but it just wasn't in the cards."

Maldonado etched her name in the Argo record books during the loss. Her six assists during the game put her at 669 career assists, passing Erin Legel to become the all-time career assist leader in program history. She also finished with 2,113 points good for third all-time in program history. Esary finished with 2,127 points, just two short of Legel's all-time point record.

"Emilee and Parker are two special kids," Himmelberg said. "I'm proud of our seniors. I'm proud of all our kids. Our seniors built a great foundation for our team. They did an outstanding job. We just couldn't get it done tonight. We had our chances. We missed some shots that normally go in for us. I'm proud of how we fought back at the end and proud of our team in general."