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LINK … GAME STORY: Westbrook survives Rankin pressure, advances to eliminate RHS
Leading 19-9 at after one quarter in Tuesday’s Region II-1A title game with Rankin, Westbrook coach Jeff Bontrager had a difficult decision to make.
Would he continue to allow his girls to take advantage of Rankin’s pressure defense, thereby taking the Lady Cats into a tempo for which they were entirely unaccustomed? Or would he slow things down a bit, hoping that his team could still find ways to score without turning the ball over?
Bontrager elected to adjust tempo and it paid off with a 62-41 win at Wylie High School.
Bailey Connell scored a game-high 20 points and Madison Munoz added 10 more to lead Westbrook (26-4) which now advances to the state tournament for the first time in the history of the WHS girls program.
Rankin closed its season at 28-2, led by Madison Jenkins with 15 and Emily Bunger with 14.
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NOTE: Photos courtesy of Gary Matlock, Sandy Sheets and Kaci Rainbolt
Jake Diggs had to Google the town of Westbrook when was graduating from Texas Tech and looking for a coaching job seven years ago. A native of White Deer in the Texas Panhandle, Diggs was pleased to learn it was only a couple of hours south of Lubbock.
Now in his sixth year as head coach, the 30-year-old Diggs has guided the Class 1A Westbrook High School Wildcats to their first outright district championship in boys’ basketball in 19 years. The Wildcats earned a district co-championship in 2005-2006, but their last outright title came in 2001.
“When I came here, I was a 24-year-old kid and thought I knew it all,” Diggs said. “Winning district has been kind of a relief. It gives you the feeling that what you have been doing is working — that the hard work is starting to pay off.
“We’ve missed the playoffs by one place the last three years. So it’s nice to not only get into the playoffs, but also to do it as the district champs.”
At 6-foot-1, Westbrook post Miranda Goswick stands taller than most of her peers.
But it’s the skilled and versatile game that comes with her height that makes the Hardin-Simmons-bound senior stand out.
A dominant force on both ends of the court for Westbrook, Goswick creates matchup problems that few Class 1A teams are equipped to contend with. And she relishes the go-to role she plays for the Lady Wildcats, who are set to take on Benjamin in the area round Friday after knocking off Hamlin 52-38 to open the playoffs.