By Kyle Gregory
Correspondent

The Westlake girls basketball team lost a heartbreaker on a last-second shot to Bowie Tuesday night, 55-53, muddying the District 15-5A playoff picture.
Shortly after Christine Northington nailed a 3-pointer to tie the game with less than a minute to play, Bowie’s Kendra King grabbed an offensive rebound and scored at the buzzer for the Bowie win.
“We fought hard,” Westlake coach Allison Wooley said. “I thought we had the tie there, it was a tough way to lose.”
The result finds both teams tied for second in the district at 7-3, meaning Bowie and Westlake finish as co-district runner-up and had to go to a coin flip to determine seeding. Westlake came out third after the flip, and the Chaps will have a very tough test in the bi-district round of the playoffs, taking on Georgetown 7 p.m. Monday at Vandegrift High School.
After a sluggish first quarter, Westlake led for most of the game, until Bowie’s Ally Bradley tied the game 48-48 on a free throw with 3:12 remaining.
Westlake’s Liz Carter recaptured the lead with a physical offensive rebound and put-back, but Bowie managed to run the clock and pull ahead 53-50 with the help of an aggressive defense and accurate free throw shooting.
With 15 seconds left in the game, Westlake’s Northington pulled up in the corner and drained a game-tying 3-pointer.
The Lady Bulldogs then rushed the ball down the court and missed two layups before King grabbed another offensive rebound for Bowie and iced the game with a buzzer-beater for the win.
“I knew we needed a 3-pointer, and I prepare for that shot,” Northington said. “I want to take that shot.”
Despite the late fireworks, the majority of the game was a defensive slugfest, with both teams breaking into bonus in each half. The majority of Westlake’s points came from Carter and Jamie Grace driving through slapping hands into the paint. Carter finished with a team-high 20 points, Grace finished with 10.
On the outside, Sarah Mason contributed eight points, including two three-point shots.
“We went into this knowing it would be a physical game,” Wooley said. “Hopefully, this game will give us the edge that we need. We haven’t had a tough game in a while. Hopefully we can use this as preparation for the playoffs.”
Both teams struggled to score early on, with the Lady Chaps scoring the first points of the game on free throws. Toward the end of the first quarter, Westlake began to find their groove and pulled ahead 19-12.
Bowie answered at the beginning of the second quarter when back-to-back 3-pointers by King and a free throw by Shelby Dixon tied the game 20-20. The teams scrapped back and forth for the remainder of the half, with Westlake coming out on top 31-25.
Westlake seemed to have the game in hand, leading by as many as 10 points late in the third quarter.
However, King and the Lady Bulldogs went on a 14-6 run in the fourth quarter, setting up the late game drama. King finished with a game-high 29 points.
“I don’t know what to say,” Westlake’s Angelica Martinez said. “It was a tough loss. We may play them again, and if we do, we’ll be ready.”

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