Editor’s note: Mark Buffalo is the Sports Editor for the Grand Prairie Herald.

It was definitely a week of highs and lows for the Des Arc Lady Eagles.

Two days after beating England in a highlight for the Lady Eagles, Des Arc dropped a tough one to Carlisle on Friday night (Feb. 6).

For the week, the Lady Eagles went 2-2 to improve to 10-6 in league play. They are currently tied for third with Carlisle, but the Lady Bison hold the tiebreaker by sweeping the season series from the Lady Eagles.

Carlisle won 44-30 on Friday night.

“I thought our effort was there,” Des Arc coach Allie Banks said. “Our kids battled and didn’t quit, and that’s something I’ll always stand behind. We had some costly mistakes and missed opportunities. Against a good team like Carlisle, that’s hard to overcome. We’ll clean those things up and be ready next time.”

In the win over England, Des Arc outscored the Lady Lions 11-7 in the fourth quarter to win 39-37.

Kaylee McDonald led Des Arc with 13 points. She made 5 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter. Allison Collins and Emma Buckner had 11 points each. Eden Huffstickler and Marley Widener had two points each.

Banks said her team needs to be able to handle the highs of beating a team like England before playing another good team in Carlisle.

“That’s an area we need to grow in — learning how to handle success,” she said. “England was a huge emotional win, and the challenge is resetting and being just as locked in the next game. On top of that, we had four games this week and had to playa tough Barton team in between England and Carlisle, so it was a demanding stretch for our kids, both physically and mentally. I thought our effort was there, but handling those quick turnarounds after big wins is something we’re still learning. This was a good lesson for us moving forward.”

Des Arc also beat Palestine-Wheatley 40-19 last Tuesday.

Buckner led Des Arc with 12 points. McDonald had 11. Collins and Brooklyn Hemmert had six points each. Huffstickler had three. Widener had two.