Senior Night’s sentimentality took a back seat to a preview of playoff passion.

With the second seed in District 25-5A on the line, Westlake rallied from a 13-point deficit in the third period to seize a 58-56 win over visiting Akins. The matchup between the two playoff-bound foes provided plenty of taut moments, and it offered a taste of what lies ahead for the Chaps.

“To win like this gets you ready for that type of playoff atmosphere,” Westlake coach Keith Smith said. “And that’s always good, especially when you pull out the win.”

The victory capped a 27-5 regular season for Westlake, which finished behind Pflugerville in 25-5A with a 12-2 record. Pflugerville wrapped up a second consecutive district title with a win over Connally Tuesday.

The Chaps will open the playoffs against San Antonio Churchill next week at a time and place not yet determined. Fourth-place Akins (16-15, 7-7) will play either New Braunfels or San Antonio MacArthur in the first round.

“This win was big because we wanted to secure that district runner-up spot,” Smith said. “Akins came to play, and they can score.”

Akins can also play defense, as evident by a 40-27 lead that the Eagles held with 3 minutes, 40 seconds left in the third period. However, a combination of a fierce man-to-man press and the scoring punch of senior Courtney Duever helped the Chaps erase that deficit in a span of four minutes.

Duever, a 6-foot-1-inch post who had just four points on 2-of-10 shooting in the first half, scored 20 of her 24 points after the break. She also had 13 rebounds to pace Westlake’s control of the boards.

“In the first half, I wasn’t finishing,” Duever said. “I knew I could take my girl, but I had to calm down and get confident that the ball was going in.”

Smith agreed with his Central Arkansas star, saying that Duever stopped worrying about Akins’ physical play and started scoring points.

“Courtney finished her shots and got some and-ones,” he said. “Instead of anticipating the contact, she was looking to score.”

Westlake’s rally started with an offensive putback by Duever. After a three-pointer from Cherrell Mays (11 points) and another inside bucket from Duever cut Akins’ lead to 44-34 with 1:53 left in the third period, the Chaps unleashed a fierce pressure defense that led to three consecutive Akins turnovers.

The Chaps took advantage of the opening with a 9-0 run to close the third quarter.

“When we went full-court man, that made a big difference in the game,” Smith said. “We were just scrambling. If they turned their back or dropped their head, we trapped.”

“We weren’t playing Westlake basketball early on,” Duever added. “We were doing whatever we wanted to do and not running our offense. That changed in the second half.”

Reserve guard Rose Minutaglio (six points) gave the Chaps their first lead of the game at 47-45 with a driving layup with 5:07 left in the game. The Chaps then played keepaway from Akins, forcing the Eagles to foul to stop the clock. Clutch foul shooter Hannah Coley (12 points) made all six of her free throws down the stretch as Westlake built a 57-51 lead that gave the team enough cushion to grab the win.

Only after the game did Duever allow for some nostalgia to emerge.

“I’m happy and sad at the same time,” she said. “I’m happy to go to Central Arkansas, but I’m sad to leave Westlake. This is the school where I’ve been playing for four years, and this is where I built my basketball career.”

And that career now extends into the playoffs.

Box


Westlake 58, Akins 56

Akins 13 14 17 12 – 56

Westlake 12 7 24 15 – 58

Akins (16-15, 7-7) – Walker 2-3 2-4 6, Smith 1-5 2-2 4, Rodriguez 1-4 0-0 3, Winston 7-19 3-5 20, Lofton 7-12 0-0 14, Hawkins 1-1 0-0 2, Wright 0-2 0-0 0, Tidwell 1-1 3-6 5, Gomez 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-48 10-17 56.

Westlake (27-6, 12-2) – Ambrose 0-3 0-0 3, Mays 3-6 4-7 11, Bell 0-1 0-0 0, Ball 0-2 0-0 0, Duever 11-20 2-4 24, Coley 3-7 7-7 12, Grace 0-0 0-0 0, Minutaglio 2-3 2-2 6, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Manzano 2-4 0-0 4 . Totals 21-46 15-20 58.

3-Point goals: Akins 4-13 (Winston 3-7, Rodriguez 1-3, Walker 0-1, Lofton 0-1, Wright 0-1), Westlake 1-4 ( Mays 1-2, Coley 0-2). Rebounds: Akins 21 (Winston 5), Westlake 32 (Duever 13). Assists: Akins 13 (Winston 6), Westlake 11 (Ambrose 4). Steals: Akins 7 (Winston 3), Westlake 11 (Duever 3). Blocks: Akins 2 (Winston 1, Lofton 1), Westlake 1 (Minutaglio). Turnovers: Akins 18, Westlake 23. Total fouls: Akins 18, Westlake 14.