For reasons both ethereal and concrete, the Chaps have often struggled with expectations when it comes to the postseason. Westlake has won six district titles since permanently joining Class 5A in the 1994-1995 season, and all but two of those years ended with a wrenching loss in a playoff opener.

In 1997, the Chaps succumbed to the pressure. A top-10 team that garnered a 29-5 record – which still stands as the best regular season in school history – couldn’t advance past its first playoff game despite the presence of future Division I recruits Chris Mihm and Luke Axtell. That pair combined for about 13 feet and 9 inches as well as 50 points a game, but it couldn’t help Westlake make its free throws when it mattered most. The Chaps missed six foul shots in the final 1 minute, 23 seconds of regulation against San Antonio Clark, which emerged with a stunning 66-64 victory.
In 1998, Westlake fell to the basketball fates. An overachieving Chap bunch finished just 18-14 but grabbed a share of the district title with a red-hot surge down the stretch. Westlake appeared on the verge of winning the first 5A playoff game in school history before San Antonio Roosevelt drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to escape with a 69-68 win.

In 2001, an erroneous whistle prevented Westlake from seizing that elusive playoff win. With eight seconds left in regulation, future McDonald’s All-American Brad Buckman collected an offensive rebound and dropped it in the basket to give the Chaps a 68-66 lead against San Antonio Highlands. As Buckman and his teammates ran back on defense with smiles of joy and relief, the official called a late traveling violation on the junior forward, negating the basket and preserving a tie. Highlands went on to win 74-70 in overtime.

Last week, a tremendous performance from a loose San Antonio Churchill ended the dreams of state for one of the best senior classes in school history. Churchill played fearless and frighteningly efficient in an 84-77 win over Westlake, shooting 52 percent from the field and making 10 three-pointers. The Chaps finished the regular season with a 27-5 mark despite playing one of the most challenging schedules in the state, but a gifted senior class that includes four collegiate players couldn’t best its program legacy.

The Chargers (22-14), who finished fourth in District 26-5A, raced out to a 17-2 lead against a sluggish Westlake team struggling to shake off eight days worth of rust. The District 25-5A champion Chaps (28-7) made several runs that cut their deficit to single digits but never could capture the lead in a Class 5A first-round battle at Seguin High School’s Goldie Harris Gymnasium.

“It was just too big a hole,” Westlake coach Tres Ellis said. “We spent a lot of energy getting back into it, but we just couldn’t clear that final hurdle. It’s disappointing, to say the least.”

Churchill came out firing, hitting eight of 16 shots in the first period. In comparison, the Chaps had five turnovers, five fouls and four points in the opening quarter. The two divergent starts may have reflected the past week for the two squads; Westlake’s previous game came against Pflugerville on Feb. 16, while Churchill battled San Antonio Reagan in a district seeding game Friday.

“The fact that they played another game [since our last game] worked out to their advantage,” Ellis said. “They shot well, and we didn’t early on.”

Churchill shot 29-of-56 from the floor for the game and made 10 of 18 treys. Westlake almost matched that offensive display; after making just two of 12 shots in that miserable first period, the Chaps ended the game shooting 49.2 percent from the field.

However, a young Churchill backcourt that included a sophomore and a freshman refused to fold against a series of Chap runs.

Westlake’s first surge came in early in the second period. Guard Keaton Lancashire came off the bench with a burst of energy, converting a steal into a layup and nailing a three-pointer in a 14-4 run that trimmed Churchill’s lead to 23-18.

After Churchill built its halftime lead to 49-33, the Chaps reeled off a 13-4 run to open the third period. Again, however, some timely treys helped the Chargers fend off Westlake.

They’re a very good team and shot the ball well and jumped up on us,” Chap guard Cody Doolin said. “We couldn’t quite get over that hump. I thought that if we just cut it to three, we’d get that lead. But we couldn’t quite get there.

“To their credit, they didn’t panic and kept that lead.”

Doolin, Westlake’s all-time leader in points and assists, had 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in his final game as a Chap. His alley-oop pass to classmate Gus Leeper for a thunderous dunk cut Churchill’s lead to 76-70 with 2 minutes, 25 seconds left in the game, but the Chaps never got any closer.

Westlake senior Conner Kemper recorded 16 points and nine rebounds, and Leeper added 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks

Post Mark Byron had 26 points for Churchill, and Scott Mammel and Taylor Sutlive each scored 17 points.

News and notes

Churchill’s 84 points marked a season-high allowed by the Chaps. The previous high mark came in an 84-79 win over Pflugerville. … Twelve of the 6-10 Byron’s points came in the second quarter, when the 6-9 Leeper was tethered to the bench with three fouls. … Six of Westlake’s 13 turnovers came in the opening period. … Jason Powell made all three of his three-point shots for the Chaps. … Both benches combined for just 10 points.


Feb. 24



San Antonio Churchill 84, Westlake 77

Churchill 19 30 14 21 – 84


Westlake 4 29 23 21 – 77

Westlake (27-6) – Powell 3-4 0-0 9, Meyertons 4-9 1-4 9, Kemper 6-8 2-2 16, Leeper 5-9 0-0 11, Doolin 8-20 9-10 25, Cox 0-1 0-0 0, Lancashire 2-5 0-2 5, Rowan 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 29-59 12-18 77.

Churchill (22-14) – Salas 2-7 2-3 5, Mammel 5-14 5-7 17, Sutlive 5-9 3-4 17, Lammert 5-9 3-3 15, Byron 11-14 4-7 26, Woods 0-2 0-0 0, Sledge 0-0 0-0 0, Ogbonna 0-0 0-0 0, Douglass 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 29-56 18-24 84.

3-Point goals: Westlake 7-18 (Powell 3-3, Kemper 2-4, Lancashire 1-1, Leeper 1-3, Doolin 0-6), Churchill 10-18 (Sutlive 4-6, Lammert 2-4, Mammel 2-5, Douglass 1-1, Salas 1-1, Woods 0-2). Rebounds: Westlake 34 (Kemper 9), Churchill 31 (Byron 8). Assists: Westlake 14 (Doolin 7), Churchill 15 (Mammel 5). Steals: Westlake 2 (Doolin 1, Lancashire 1), Churchill 2 (Mammel 1, Salas 1). Blocks: Westlake 4 (Leeper 4), Churchill 3 (Byron 3). Turnovers: Westlake 13, Churchill 12. Total fouls: Westlake 23, Churchill 18.

Travis County remains under a winter weather advisory until midnight tonight, with snow forecast this afternoon. Snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected, and temperatures will fall into the lower 30s this evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Westlake’s boys will travel to Pflugerville tomorrow for a match scheduled for 7:45 p.m., while Westlake’s girls will host the Panthers at 7:45 p.m.

Tonight’s scheduled boys basketball playoff game between Westlake and San Antonio Churchill remains on schedule for 7:30 p.m. at Seguin High School, although officials from both schools will reevaluate the weather forecast at noon, according to Westlake assistant athletic director Al Bennett.

Travis County remains under a winter weather advisory until midnight tonight, with snow forecast this afternoon. Snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected, and temperatures will fall into the lower 30s this evening, according to the National Weather Service.

But have no doubt about the number 1, which represents Cody Doolin’s spot on the all-time scoring list for Westlake’s boys basketball team.

Chap coach Tres Ellis has the 6-foot-2-inch Doolin at just over 2,000 points, while the Picayune places him at 1,984 points.

Regardless of the total, Doolin’s collection of layups, long-distance bombs, foul shots and floaters over the past four years heads an impressive list of players who each left their mark on the Westlake program.

A generation ago, future University of Texas and NBA player Bill Wendlandt topped 20 points per game for two consecutive years while leading a power-packed Class 3A team that also included future Major Leaguers Kelly Gruber and Calvin Schiraldi. Ellis has Wendlandt ranked just behind Doolin on the Chaps’ all-time scoring list, although the exact numbers prove a challenge to verify.

Luke Axtell and future NBA lottery pick Chris Mihm provided a potent one-two scoring punch in the mid 1990s, but neither ever matched Doolin’s four-year total of points.

Early this decade, McDonald’s All-American Brad Buckman scored 1,694 points in three seasons on Westlake’s varsity. If the future Longhorn forward had spent his freshman year at Westlake instead of St. Michael’s, perhaps he would hold the unofficial scoring title for the Chaps.

But for now, Doolin has earned the honor. The University of San Francisco commit also tops Westlake’s all-time assists list with 586, including a single-season school record of 205 this year.

And the best thing about both of Doolin’s school records? He should have plenty of chances to increase his numbers.

The Chaps (27-5), ranked No. 11 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, open the Class 5A Region IV playoffs tonight against San Antonio Churchill at Seguin High School. The bidistrict matchup tips off at 7:30 p.m.

Like last year, Westlake fell behind by a double-digit deficit to San Antonio Jay in the second round of the Class 5A Region IV playoffs. Like last year, the Chaps rallied to tie the game in the fourth period. And like last year, No. 14 Jay (32-4) emerged with a win.

But those similarities stopped abruptly during the final moments of Jay’s thrilling 52-50 win Friday at Seguin High School.

A year ago, the Mustangs closed out their 45-35 second-round win over Westlake with a 12-2 run in the final six minutes of the game. On Friday, however, the No. 23 Chaps (28-7) almost erased a nine-point deficit in the final 1 minute, 20 seconds of the game, succumbing only when a shot in the lane by guard Cherrell Mays bounced off the rim with one second remaining on the clock.

“It just came down to one possession, and the ball didn’t roll in,” Westlake coach Keith Smith said. “I thought it was going in when it left Cherrell’s hands.”

May’s twisting shot in the lane couldn’t complete a frenzied Westlake rally in the game’s waning moments. After freshman sparkplug Destiny Amezquita gave Jay a 51-42 lead with a layup at the 1:33 mark of the final period, the partisan Jay crowd began enjoying an apparent Mustang win.

Chap guard Hannah Coley quickly silenced the celebration, draining a pair of three-pointers in a span of 24 seconds to cut the Chaps’ deficit to 51-48.

After Westlake’s trapping press drew an offensive foul on Amezquita, Chap post Courtney Duever followed a miss by teammate Kayla Ball to make it a 1-point game with 40 seconds left. Jay managed to dwindle the clock down to nine seconds before a Chap foul, but Amezquita sank just one of two foul shots.

Without a timeout remaining, Mays received the inbounds pass and raced up the court. The Mustangs shadowed Coley at the three-point line, and Mays drove into the lane for a good look at the rim.

“We were just trying to get up the court and get a shot,” Coley said. “Cherrell got off the shot, but it just didn’t go in.”

According to Jay coach Mike Floyd, Coley’s 21-point game did plenty to warrant his team’s defensive attention on that last Chap possession.

“We put token pressure and sagged down,” he said. “If anything, we weren’t going to give up the three [to Coley].”

Few folks in the stands thought the contest would come down to one shot after Jay raced to a 32-20 lead early in the third period. However, guard Coley rediscovered her shooting touch at a most opportune time. She had eight points in a 12-0 Westlake run that pulled the team within 34-32 late in the third quarter.

However, Jay refused to relinquish the lead that it held the entire game while advancing to the third round for the second consecutive year.

“I’m so proud of the team,” Smith said. “We were down, but we showed a lot of heart. Our full-court pressure got to them a little, Hannah knocked down some threes, and our rebounding got better.

“Hannah hit some big ones when we needed them.”

Duever ended the game with 18 points and 10 rebounds and helped the Chaps regain control of the glass after a rugged start. Jay outboarded Westlake 9-2 in the first period, but the two teams both ended with 28 rebounds.

Amezquita, a freshman starting at point guard for injured all-district senior Julissa Garrett, led Jay with 18 points. Erica Donovan, a heavily recruited wing who led the Mustangs in scoring and rebounding this season, scored just three points on 1-of-10 shooting against the Chaps’ predominant zone defense.

News and notes

Coley made five of her nine three-point attempts against Jay while breaking out of a shooting slump. She had missed all five of her three-point attempts in Westlake’s two previous games. … The Chaps made just five of 11 free throws against Jay. In their two playoff games, Westlake connected on 17 of 33 free-throw attempts. For the season, the Chaps shot 71-percent from the foul line as a team. … Seven of Westlake’s 15 turnovers came in the fourth period. … The Chaps held both of their playoff foes to less than 33-percent shooting from the floor. … Westlake hasn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2003.

Box


San Antonio Jay 52, Westlake 50

Jay 16 12 8 16 – 52

Westlake 13 6 16 14 – 50

Jay (32-4) – Amezquita 5-12 6-9 18, Taylor 3-7 4-6 12, Donovan 1-10 1-3 3, Orr 1-2 0-0 2, Stubbs 2-5 0-0 4, Evans 2-7 3-4 10, Harris 1-2 1-3 3. Totals 15-46 15-25 52

Westlake (28-7) – Ambrose 1-6 1-5 3, Mays 1-5 0-2 2, Ball 1-4 0-0 2, Duever 8-13 2-2 18, Coley 8-12 0-0 21, Grace 0-0 0-0 0, Minutaglio 0-0 2-2 2, Bell 0-2 0-0 0, Harris 0-2 0-0 0, Manzano 1-1 0-0 2 . Totals 19-45 5-11 50.

3-Point goals: Jay 5-19 (Amezquita 2-6, Taylor 2-6, Evans 1-1, Donovan 0-2, Stubbs 0-2), Westlake 5-21 ( Coley 5-9, Harris 0-1, Ball 0-1, Duever 0-1, Bell 0-2, Mays 0-2, Ambrose 0-5). Rebounds: Jay 28 (Taylor 7), Westlake 28 (Duever 10). Assists: Jay 9 (Amezquita 4), Westlake 7 (Ball 2, Mays 2, Coley 2). Steals: Jay 5 (Amezquita 2), Westlake 2 (Harris 1, Duever 1). Blocks: Jay 1 (Evans), Westlake 2 (Coley 1, Manzano 1). Turnovers: Jay 9, Westlake 15. Total fouls: Jay 14, Westlake 17.

“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.”

Tuesday’s results:
Bowie d. Anderson 56-41
Bastrop d. Connally 62-48
Akins d. Austin High 71-61
Westlake d. Pflugerville 71-63

Girls: Final
*Pflugerville 13-1 26-5
*Westlake 12-2 26-6
*Connally 11-3 25-9
*Akins 7-7 16-15
Anderson 6-8 12-17
Austin 4-10 14-17
Bastrop 2-12 9-24
Bowie 1-13 5-23

Doolin, who scored a team-high 18 points, was honored as the school’s all-time scoring leader in a brief ceremony after the game.

Four Chaps scored in double figures for Westlake, including Conner Kemper (15 points), Jason Powell (14) and Carl Meyertons (13).

Westlake will open the playoffs next week against either San Antonio Churchill or San Antonio Reagan.

But with the season hanging on the line, Duever grew a little selfish whenever the ball touched the rim. Or her hands. Or the backboard.

Duever, a 6-foot-1-inch senior captain, scored 27 points and grabbed a career-high 24 rebounds to carry the Chaps past San Antonio Churchill 51-37 in Tuesday’s taut Class 5A Region IV first-round playoff game. Her display of dominance helped the Chaps pull away from an improbable 35-35 tie at the end of the third period, and it set up a rematch with state-ranked San Antonio Jay Friday at a time and place not yet determined.

“This would have been our last game, and I didn’t want it to be over yet,” said Duever, a four-year member of Westlake’s basketball team. “We just started playing basketball again [in the fourth period] and took care of business.”

The Chaps (27-6) almost took care of Churchill (21-15) in the first period, racing out to a 17-4 lead before the Chargers could find their footing. However, Churchill rallied behind a ferocious halfcourt defense that forced 15 combined Westlake turnovers in the second and third periods.

“A lot of times, when you start out like that, you relax,” Westlake coach Keith Smith said. “And Churchill D’d up. The refs let us both play pretty physical.”

When Churchill’s Hunter Cortez buried a three-pointer at the third-period buzzer to tie the game, the Charger fans leaped into the air, amazed at their team’s good fortune.

But Duever saw the shot as another type of sign.

“That shot was really lucky, and that luck just showed how much we should be beating them by,” she said. “We clamped down on defense and started rebounding.”

Duever scored seven consecutive points to open the fourth period and spent the remainder of the game snaring rebounds. She had nine boards in the period while grabbing almost every errant shot.

In comparison, Churchill missed all eight of its field-goal attempts in the final stanza and scored its two points from the foul line. The Chargers, who had 23 rebounds in the game, had just one board in the final period.

According to Smith, the Chaps’ gut check in the fourth period testified to their fortitude.

“We hadn’t played well since the first few minutes of the game, so we [the coaches] just said, ‘Guys, you gotta want it right here,’ ” he said. “And they responded. Churchill only got those two points in the last quarter.”

Chap guard Cherrell Mays, who scored 15 points, sealed the win with eight points in the final 3 minutes, 51 seconds.

Post Danielle Espinoza led a youth-laden Churchill squad with 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. The Chargers had two sophomores and a freshman in their starting lineup

News and notes

Duever scored her game-high 27 points on 12-0f-19 shooting and also dished out a team-high three assists, accounting for 15 of Westlake’s 19 field goals. … Duever also had four steals to lead the Chaps. … Westlake’s bench went a combined 0-1 from the field. … Churchill shot 28.6 percent from the field. … Westlake has won two consecutive playoff openers but hasn’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2003.

Westlake 51, San Antonio Churchill 37

Churchill 6 12 17 2 – 37
Westlake 17 6 12 16 – 51

Churchill (21-15) – Holub 4-14 0-0 8, Volz 1-6 0-0 2, Burgamy 0-5 0-0 0, Truesdale 4-11 2-2 11, Espinoza 4-7 4-11 13, Wells-Gibson 0-0 0-0 0, Clarkson 0-0 0-0 0, Cortez 1-5 0-0 3, Rostek 0-0 0-0 0, Decker 0-1 0-0 0, Gonzalez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-49 6-13 37.

Westlake (28-6) – Ambrose 1-4 1-4 3, Mays 3-8 8-10 15, Ball 2-2 0-1 4, Duever 12-19 3-5 27, Coley 1-7 0-2 2, Grace 0-0 0-0 0, Minutaglio 0-0 0-0 0, Bell 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Manzano 0-1 0-0 4 . Totals 19-39 12-22 51.

3-Point goals: Churchill 3-23 (Espinoza 1-1, Truesdale 1-4, Cortez 1-5, Volz 0-4, Burgamy 0-4, Holub 0-5), Westlake 1-6 ( Mays 1-2, Ambrose 0-2, Coley 0-3). Rebounds: Churchill 23 (Espinoza 8), Westlake 38 (Duever 24). Assists: Churchill 4 (Holub 2), Westlake 10 (Duever 3, Coley 3). Steals: Churchill 8 (Holub 3), Westlake 6 (Duever 4). Blocks: Churchill 4 (Espinoza 4), Westlake 2 (Duever 1, Manzano 1). Turnovers: Churchill 13, Westlake 18. Total fouls: Churchill 21, Westlake 12.