Rancho Alamitos Nearly Gives the Game Away : Division III: Vaqueros hang on for 75-68 victory after blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The look on Coach Bob Becker’s face after Rancho Alamitos’ first-round game against Wasco Tuesday sent a clear message--his players are in for a royal scolding in practice today.

Even though the host Vaqueros defeated Wasco, 75-68, to advance to the semifinals of the Southern California Division III girls’ basketball regionals Thursday against Inglewood Morningside, Becker wasn’t pleased with the way his team allowed the Tigers to get back in the game after leading by as many as 20 points early in the fourth quarter.

“We are just not playing defense when we have to,” Becker said. “We are breaking down (defensively). We were giving up too many easy shots inside.”

In a victory that shouldn’t have been as close, Rancho Alamitos (22-2), seeded second in the division, gave up eight points to Wasco (22-6) on layups in the fourth quarter. Rancho Alamitos also gave up nine points on two three-pointers by point guard Casey Graham and one three-pointer by guard Tracy Burns.

The Vaqueros, who won the Southern Section Division III-A title Saturday, led most of the game. Several times they opened large margins against Wasco, the Central Section Division III runner-up, only to see the Tigers rally and close the gap.

Guard Shannon James got Rancho Alamitos off to a fast start, making three three-pointers and scoring 12 points in the first quarter. James hit another three-pointer in the second quarter to finish with four on the night, one short of the school single-game record held by three players. She finished with a team-high 19 points.

Rancho Alamitos took a 20-12 lead into the second quarter and a 38-25 advantage at halftime. The Vaqueros increased their lead to 54-40 after three quarters on a couple of layups by forward Akilah Rodgers in the final seconds of the quarter. Rodgers finished with 18 points.

But Graham took command of the Tiger offense in the final quarter, scoring 16 of her game-high 22 points and nearly bringing Wasco all the way back. Graham also had seven steals in the game.