Westlake’s formidable second-round foe may have suffered a blow to its regional hopes, but Chap coach Keith Smith knows better than to discount San Antonio Jay.

“I remember them well,” he said, referring to Westlake’s 45-35 second-round loss a year ago. “They have a lot of athleticism, and they get after it defensively.”

The District 28-5A champion Mustangs (32-4) may have to lean on that defense to again down Westlake (27-6), because senior point guard Julissa Garrett will likely miss tomorrow’s game with a knee injury.

The Class 5A Region IV playoff game tips off at 7:30 p.m. at Seguin High School.

Garrett, an all-state candidate averaging 14.3 points and 5.3 assists a game, suffered the injury two weeks ago. Although the No. 14 Mustangs have still stretched their winning streak to 18 games, their offense has cooled off without Garrett at the controls; after scoring more than 60 points for 13 consecutive games, Jay has yet to top that mark since Garrett’s absence.

Of course, Erica Donovan still gives Jay plenty of scoring punch. The heralded 5-foot-11-inch junior wing averages 18 points and 10 rebounds a game and had a dozen points in a 56-49 first-round win over Victoria Memorial.

Freshman guard Destiny Amezquita, starting at point in place of Garrett, scored a team-high 17 points in the win.

Jay’s offense won’t matter if the No. 23 Chaps repeat last season’s dismal offensive performance. Westlake shot 31.7 percent in the 45-35 loss, and 20 of the team’s points came from 2009 graduate Caroline Durbin.

Westlake’s three leading scorers this year – Courtney Duever, Cherrell Mays and Hannah Coley – combined to shoot 1-of-18 in the loss to Jay.

Despite that wretched shooting, Westlake still entered the final six minutes of last season’s matchup tied 33-33 with the Mustangs. That buoys the Chaps hopes of an upset, said Duever.

“I thought that we should have beaten the last year, and we’re a better team now,” she said after tallying 27 points and 24 rebounds in Westlake’s 51-37 first-round win over San Antonio Churchill. “We’ve won, what, 11 in a row? We’re real confident right now, and I can’t wait to play [Jay] again.”