Westendorf Gives St. Margaret’s a Big Lift

Junior Ryan Westendorf scored 29 points, had 14 rebounds and blocked three shots as St. Margaret’s High School defeated Bethel Christian, 81-60, in the Small Schools division semifinals Friday at Quartz Hill High School.

The victory extends St. Margaret’s winning streak to 18 games and advances the Tartans (21-4) into Friday’s 7:30 p.m. final against Ribet Christian, a 63-62 winner over Rio Hondo Prep in Friday’s other semifinal. The championship game site has yet to be determined.

Bethel Christian (21-3), which averaged 90 points per game, simply couldn’t get untracked against St. Margaret’s.

But the big story was the Tartans’ big man--Westendorf.

Westendorf, a 6-foot-7 junior center, got his big numbers in possibly his toughest matchup of the season, Bethel Christian’s 6-7 Scott Burns. Burns finished with 10 points but was on the bench in foul trouble for much of the second half. Westendorf scored 21 of his points in the second half.

“This kid’s for real, isn’t he?” St. Margaret’s Coach Rick Bauer said of Westendorf.

Bethel Christian held a 29-26 lead at halftime, but the Tartans went on a 16-3 run to open the third quarter and take a 42-32 lead. Westendorf had 14 of St. Margaret’s 27 points in the third quarter.

The Tartans continued to build their lead in the fourth, opening up a a 20-point margin after a 14-4 run in the first four minutes.

St. Margaret’s biggest lead came after reserve forward Jeff Hilgers made a field goal with 54 seconds left to make the score 77-55.

The Tartans used a four-corners spread offense, opening up the inside for Westendorf.

“It looked like we were really slowing it down,” Bauer said. “But we were just spreading it out so we could open up the lanes.

“I read in the papers that they were expecting to score 80 points, so I said we were a kind of slow-down team, but (we’re) not really.”