Thunderbirds fall in Class 5A semifinal despite Sancho’s 28
Senior guard Sahvani Sancho won’t forget her time as a Wagner Thunderbird.
The St. Mary’s-bound guard, who scored a team-best 28 points, wished the ride could have lasted one more game.
But Frisco Liberty’s size advantage and defensive tenacity on the perimeter were too much to handle as the Red Hawks won 62-51 in a Class 5A state semifinal on Thursday at the Alamodome.
“This was an amazing experience, an amazing high school to go to,” Sancho said. “I love the coaching staff, my community, my teammates. This is a family. I’m never going to forget the time I had here.”
Sancho carried the Thunderbirds (28-5) early with nine firstquarter points that led to a 15-14 Wagner advantage heading into the second quarter.
Sancho knocked in a 3-pointer to open the second quarter for a 18-14 lead. Then, the Red Hawks responded by outscoring the Thunderbirds 12-4 the rest of the quarter for a 26-21 halftime lead.
The Red Hawks (28-10) led by as many as 16 points with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter. The game was delayed for about 15 minutes as hail, which had fallen through the roof, was cleared from the floor.
Wagner fell to 0-5 in state semifinals, while Liberty improved to 5-0. The Red Hawks, who captured the 5A state championship in 2020, will play Lubbock Cooper at 3 p.m. Saturday for the title.
Liberty settled in by dominated the offensive glass 14-9. The Red Hawks held a 16-6 advantage in second-chance points.
“There were some times we did not box out,” Wagner coach
Annissa Jackson said. “They are a big team. There were crucial times when we did not box out.”
The Red Hawks also made it difficult for Wagner on the arc. The Thunderbirds made just 4 of 18 3-pointers, with Sancho knocking in 4-of-9. Coming into the game, Wagner attempted an average of 25.6 3-pointers.
“They played defense pretty good,” Sancho said. “They knew in order to stop our movement, they had to face guard. They knew if I couldn’t hit 3 and stop LA from driving the basketball, it would stop everything.”
Wagner sophomore guard LA Sneed finished with 10 points on 3 of 21 shooting.
Sneed said she found lanes to the basket but “I just didn’t finish, to be honest.”
Liberty coach Ross Reedy said the Red Hawks focused on guarding the arc.
“That was a huge point of emphasis,” Reedy said. “We knew we were going to give up something. We were either going to give up shot at the perimeter or you are going to give gaps for (Sneed) to attack. LA Sneed is a fabulous player, and we were probably fortunate that some of the balls she shot didn’t go in the hoop. It was kind of a pick your poison, and we prefer to give up two instead of three. I think that’s good math.”
Junior guard Keyera Roseby led the Red Hawks with 28 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Jacy Abii had 19 points.
The Red Hawks had scored more than 61 points just one other time this season. They had given up more than 50 points just three times entering the game.
“We look at ourselves as a defensive-minded team, and we gave up 51 points and 15 in the first quarter and 18 if you are talking about the first quarter and three seconds,” Reedy said. “We knew we were going to have to put up some numbers. They’ve run away from a lot of people. They kids were gritty and gutty. It was a different style of game that we’ve probably played in the past six to eight weeks.”
The Thunderbirds are expected to return three who started Thursday.
“This just fuels me to get to back to this point and try to succeed to the next game,” Sneed said.
“This was an amazing experience, an amazing high school to go to.” Wagner’s Sahvani Sancho