Photo by VYPE Media's Bradley Collier.
The 2019-2020 UIL girls basketball postseason begins tonight and there are interesting Austin area storylines going into it. Check out five things to know.
No. 1: Westlake Wants To Snap Another State Title Drought
What does Westlake girls basketball have in common with the Dallas Cowboys? The first similarity occurred in a four-year span in the 1990s. The Chaparrals girls basketball program earned a trio of UIL state championships during the 1992-1993, 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 seasons and America's Team won three Super Bowl titles in the 1992-1993, 1993-1994 and 1995-1996 seasons. Their other connection is the fact that they haven't won a title of that magnitude since. The Cowboys have a lot of work to do if they want to return to that stage, but Westlake has a great opportunity to top the 2019-2020 UIL 6A girls basketball postseason. Its girls basketball team paid close attention to the school's football team, which closed out its first state championship since 1996 in December. It plans to add to its 28-6 regular season record by leaning on seniors Shay Holle (Texas signee), Presley Bennett (Texas State signee) and Bailee Chynoweth.
No. 2: Cedar Park Is A Basketball Hotbed
The Austin Toros/Spurs franchise, which has called the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park home since 2010, first put Cedar Park basketball on the map when it won the 2012 NBA D-League championship and later added the 2018 NBA G League title. Now, its two public high schools are aiming for additional basketball crowns at the end of the 2019-2020 UIL 6A and 5A girls basketball postseasons. We start with Cedar Park Vista Ridge, who enters the 6A dance with a 27-6 record, a 13-6A district title and big time ballers in AJ Marotte, Victoria Baker and Zion Neat. Its crosstown rival, Cedar Park, earned an undefeated 17-5A district crown, owns an impressive 29-3 record and is led by notable playmakers Nicole Leff, Hanna Wheeler and Alisa Knight.
No. 3: 27-4A Playoff Teams Are Ready For Deep Runs
27-4A is such a strong district that three of its four playoff qualifiers won 20-plus regular season games. That included Liberty Hill (21), Salado (23) and Lampasas (25), who finished first, second and fourth in the final district standings. The only outlier was third-place Burnet, who finished with an 18-18 regular season record and advanced to the 2019 UIL 4A state semifinal.
No. 4 Georgetown ISD Rivalry Deserves A Playoff Meeting
Georgetown East View edged Georgetown for the 18-5A district crown during the 2019-2020 girls basketball regular season, so both the Patriots and Eagles are teams to watch going into the UIL 5A postseason. The Pats pulled out important crosstown rivalry wins by the scores of 46-42 and 42-41 to top Georgetown by a game in the district standings and earn a slight 26 to 25 regular season win advantage. With the teams' competitiveness during district play, we can all hope for a third season meeting in the UIL 5A Region III Final.
No. 5: Fayette County Fighters
Fayette County, which covers the southeastern portion of the Austin area, is home to state-ranked La Grange and Schulenburg. The UIL 4A Leopards and UIL 3A Shorthorns both enter the UIL postseason with a 29-4 record.
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