By Thomas Jones, Sports editor

It didn’t take long for the Chaps to make a statement to the rest of District 25-5A.

Westlake (11-2, 1-0) exploded for 23 first-period points and cruised to a resounding 66-26 road win over Bowie in the district opener. The ease of the victory verified the Chaps’ strong nondistrict record, and it also showed that Westlake won’t concede the district title to a league that includes state-ranked Pflugerville.

“They girls were excited about starting district, and it showed,” Westlake coach Keith Smith. “Twenty-three in a quarter? That’s the best we’ve done all year.”

Smith credited a barrage of early three-pointers for Westlake’s quick start. The Chaps nailed all four of their three-point attempts in the first half and ended the game 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line.

“We hit our shots,” Smith said. That got us going.”

Cherrell Mays helped Westlake get going on both ends of the court. The sophomore point guard scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting and anchored the Chaps’ ferocious perimeter defense. Although her scoring output marked a career-high, Mays credited her team’s defense during that pivotal first period.

“Our defense has been really aggressive, and that was the key,” she said. “We help out a lot, and everybody is talking. We’re just playing good team defense.”

Bowie made just three of 14 shots while scoring nine points in the opening stanza and ended the game shooting 7-of-47 from the floor. The Chaps forced 17 turnovers.

Carline Durbin led Westlake with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, and Courtney Duever added 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Duever’s double-double helped Westlake dominated the boards. The Chaps pulled down 53 rebounds, compared to 24 for Bowie. Twenty-two of those rebounds came off the offensive glass.

Kassy Clark led Bowie with eight rebounds.