By Thomas Jones, Sports Editor 

Hounded by a ferocious Chap defense from the opening tip, visiting Cedar Park Vista Ridge struggled to six points on 3-of-15 shooting while falling behind in the first period.

And then Westlake really turned up the pressure.

The Chaps (9-2) slapped a stifling 1-2-2 press on Vista Ridge midway through the second period and rode a wave of Ranger turnovers to a 13-0 run. Vista Ridge (4-7) never closed that deficit to single digits as the Chaps raced to a 57-26 nondistrict win Nov. 25.

“Our defense was phenomenal,” Westlake coach Keith Smith said. “Very seldom do we give up just 26 points. This was one of the best defensive efforts I’ve seen from us.”

That defense focused on Vista Ridge’s Courtney Foster, a 5-foot-10-inch bruiser who leads the Rangers in scoring. The Chaps leaned on a box-and-one defense for most of the game and held Foster to four points on 2-of-12 shooting. Without their go-to scorer earning points in the paint against Chap defenders Kayla Ball and Courtney Duever, Vista Ridge struggled to find any offensive rhythm and shot just 11-of-43 from the field for the game.

“We wanted someone else to beat us besides No. 11,” Smith said. “The girls did a great job of doing that.”

The Rangers had no answer for Duever down low. The 6-1 junior scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in the first half as the Chaps built a 30-14 halftime lead. She didn’t miss a shot from the floor until the third period.

“We’re working really well as a team,” Duever said. “Everyone’s getting along so well, and I think we’re going to be really good this year.”

Westlake will only get better as captain Caroline Durbin works her way back into playing form, said Smith. The team’s leading scorer a year ago, Durbin missed the past two weeks with a shoulder injury but scored 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting. 

Smith said her absence might have been a blessing in disguise for some of his team’s younger players.

“I think that a lot of kids not used to playing time got some confidence,” Smith said. “We’ve worked through some adversity already this season, and we’ll only get better as Caroline works her way back into playing form.”

Ball scored 10 points for Westlake on 4-of-4 shooting, and point guard Cherrell Mays had five rebounds and three assists along with tenacious perimeter defense.

Vzo chi Duru led Vista Ridge with eight points off the bench.

 

New and notes

 

Former Westlake coach Mike Martin returned to Westlake High School as the first-year coach of Vista Ridge. Martin, a veteran coaching stalwart of Region I, led the Chaps to a 23-7 record and the District 25-5A championship in 2000-01 before returning to West Texas. He said that he accepted the Vista Ridge job to be closer to his two daughters, who both live in the Austin area. … Sophomore post Jackie Manzano took advantage of extended playing time in the fourth period to score six points and pull down seven rebounds. … Sophomore Hannah Coley, who moved up to varsity when Caroline Durbin got injured, will stay on the varsity squad, said Westlake coach Keith Smith. She had nine points against Vista Ridge. … Durbin had three of Westlake’s 11 steals.