McHi no match for Wagner

SAN ANTONIO ? Before being asked a single question after McAllen High?s 65-43 regional semifinal loss to San Antonio Wagner on Friday, Lady Bulldogs coach Teresa Casso already had an answer for her team?s play. ?Failure to adjust,? Casso said. McAllen High, who made its first trip to regionals for the first time in 25 years, could not find a way to control the boards and the powerful posts of Wagner at the University of Texas-San Antonio Convocation Center. Wagner advances to play the winner of the San Antonio Madison-Harlingen South regional semifinal. ?I can?t say we were surprised,? Casso said. ?We knew about their size and that they were bigger than us, we just did not box out wisely.? Lady Thunderbirds (35-1) senior post Amber Roberson (6-foot-3) led Wagner with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks. ?We knew we had the size advantage,? Roberson said. ?(McHi?s) biggest girl is only like 5-10, so we knew we could dominate the boards.? The only answer McAllen High (35-5) had was senior post Becca Valdez (16 points, 12 rebounds) but it was apparent in the game, the Lady Bulldogs would need more than Valdez if it was to succeed. ?Becca was the only one that could stand in their physically with their big girls,? Casso said. McHi standout Andi Garza scored only 8 points for the Lady Bulldogs and was blocked six times by Roberson. The size of Roberson and fellow senior post BreAnna Brock (6-2) had the Lady Bulldogs altering their shots in the paint all night. ?We always depend on (size)? Lady T-Birds coach Christina Ochoa said. Valdez?s physical play sparked McAllen High at times but it seemed to be never enough for the Lady Bulldogs. ?They came out here and wanted to be aggressive,? Roberson said. ?They wanted to play that type of game, so we showed them we could be aggressive too.? Wagner limited the Lady Bulldogs? wings Lyndsie Currie (seven points) and Ali Bills (seven points) to a combined 14 points. Both averaged double figures during the regular season. The Lady Bulldogs fell victim to Wagner?s full-court press early, committing 11 first-quarter turnovers. The Lady T-Birds turned the early mishaps into a 21-8 lead after the first quarter, and McHi was never able to bring Wagner?s lead down to single digits. ?We were telling the girls that they were still in it at halftime,? said Casso, whose team went into the break trailing 35-20. ?We were hoping to cut the lead in half at in the third quarter but they were way too powerful.? Peter Rasmussen covers girls basketball for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4448.