The film of Westlake’s first District 25-5A game won’t ever be used at a coaching clinic for offensive execution, but it looked Oscar-worthy enough for Chap girls basketball coach Keith Smith.

“It wasn’t pretty at all, but we’ll take it,” he said after watching the Chaps dispatch Bowie 48-28 Tuesday at Westlake High School. “Our defense was decent, and we finally attacked that zone they play. A win is always a nice way to start district.”

The Chaps (10-4, 1-0) shot just 36 percent from the floor, and leading scorer Courtney Duever went scoreless while missing all seven of her shots.

“But more than anything, we’ve got girls who can step up and rebound or step up and make a stop,” senior Kayla Ball said. “Even tonight, some girls weren’t making shots they usually make, but other people helped out.”

Every Chap that took the court helped hold Bowie (3-10, 0-1) to 9-of-42 shooting from the floor. Westlake also dominated the glass 38-23 behind seven rebounds apiece from Duever and reserve post Jamie Grace.

Defense keyed the Chaps’ decisive first-half run. After Bowie tied the game at 7-7 with 2 minutes, 6 seconds left in the first period on a three-point shot by Audra Stamp, Westlake held the Bulldogs scoreless for a span of 9:42 minutes. By the time Bowie scored in the second period, Westlake held a 21-7 lead.

“I guess we had a pretty intense tournament [in Burnet over the weekend],” Smith said. “I was hoping that intensity would carry over, but it kind of went the other way. We got it turned around eventually.”

Ball led Westlake with 12 points and made all eight of her free-throw attempts. Overall, the Chaps continued their impressive foul shooting by making 17 of 24 free throws.

“We’ve been hitting about 70 percent from the foul line, so that’s been a definite strength for us,” Smith said.

Stamp scored a team-high 11 points for Bowie.

Mays returns to action
Three weeks after breaking her nose in practice, starting point guard Cherrell Mays returned to the court and delivered a familiar jolt of intensity for the Chaps. Mays, donning a plastic mask, checked into the game in the third quarter and received extended playing time throughout the second half. She scored three points and had a steal, assist and a rebound. And she also played stifling defense, said Smith.

“We just threw her in there,” Smith said. “You can tell it might take some time to adjust to that mask, but she’s not afraid of anything, and that’s always good.”

News and notes
Guards Karlee Bell and Rose Minutaglio scored nine and seven points, respectively. … Hannah Coley came off the bench for eight points. … Jamie Grace added six points to her seven rebounds. … Courtney Duever didn’t score, but the 6-foot-2-inch forward led the Chaps in rebounding (seven), assists (four), blocks (three) and steals (three).

Dec. 8
Westlake 48, Bowie 28

Westlake 11 10 9 18 – 48
Bowie 7 2 10 9 – 28

Westlake (10-4, 1-0) – Ambrose 0-4 1-2 1, Minutaglio 2-5 2-3 7, Bell 3-6 2-2 9, Ball 2-2 8-8 12, Duever 0-6 0-2 0, Coley 3-9 1-2 8, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Grace 3-4 0-0 6, Harris 1-1 0-0 2, Mays 0-2 3-5 3, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0, Wright0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 17-24 48.
Bowie (3-10, 0-1) – Stamp 3-11 2-2 11, King 0-3 0-1 0, Stasey 1-9 2-4 5, Akins 1-5 0-0 2, Wiley 3-7 2-2 8, Garcia-Babb 0-2 0-0 0, Elequin 1-4 0-0 2, Brewer 0-0 0-0 0, Bradley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 9-42 6-8 28.

3-Point goals: Westlake 3-11 (Minutaglio 1-1, Bell 1-1, Coley 1-5, Mays 0-1, Ambrose 0-3), Bowie 4-18 (Stamp 3-11, Stasey 1-5, Elequin 0-2). Rebounds: Westlake 38 (Duever 7, Grace 7), Bowie 23 (Stamp 5). Assists: Westlake 13 (Duever 4), Bowie 3 (Wiley 2). Steals: Westlake 9 (Duever 3), Bowie 5 (Stamp 2). Blocks: Westlake 3 (Duever 3), Bowie 1 (Akins). Turnovers: Westlake 19, Bowie. Total fouls: Westlake 15, Bowie 14.