In the 2024 California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section basketball playoffs, the Saugus Centurions fell short of advancing to the semifinals in a loss to the Torrance Tartars, a result that head coach Anthony Falasca said he’s lost sleep over.
Two years after the loss, the Lady Centurions found themselves in the same position in the Division 2 quarterfinals against a team that Falasca believed was “very similar” to the Torrance team that knocked them out, in the Portola Bulldogs of Irvine.
But unlike what happened two years ago, the Lady Centurions defeated the Bulldogs, 54-44, and clinched their bid into the Division 2 semifinals.
“I had that in the back of my mind. I never forgot about that game because I felt like I let my team down in that situation,” Falasca said of the team’s playoff loss in 2024. “I’ve lost sleep these last three or four days, hoping that I was making the right decision [now].”
Now, with the Lady Centurions’ win Wednesday over Portola, all Falasca did was thank his team for believing in the process.
“All I asked them to do is trust me. All I asked them to do is buy into whatever that we’re doing and to give it to [Portola] defensively and offensively,” he said. “But offensively, it wasn’t our big focus. It was defensively on how we can stop a high-power offense and make it as hard on them to make baskets as we can.”
The Lady Centurions held Portola on 17-for-55 shooting, 6-for-28 from beyond the arc, and outrebounded the Bulldogs 36-21 enroute to the double-digit victory. And although the Lady Centurions didn’t put too much focus on their offense, it didn’t stop senior guard EvaMarie Rios from dropping an 18-point performance on 7-for-13 shooting.
After the game, Falasca said that he’s grateful to have a leader like Rios, as not only does she fill up the stat sheet but also is a leader on and off the court for Saugus.
“I think what goes unnoticed is what she brings to the team in the intangibles and the things that don’t show up on the stat sheet,” he said. “The camaraderie that her leadership brings to this team and these girls. You don’t have that in your career. Sometimes you don’t have that in 25 years of coaching. I’ve never had it.”
Rios said that preparing for the matchup against Portola was unlike anything she experienced and by the end, she was happy to have won.
“I couldn’t care less about how much I have just as long as we get the win. Like, that’s really all that matters to me,” she said. “Even though we only had like two days, I feel like to prepare for [Portola], we gave our 1000% in practice in those four hours and I’m just so proud of my girls.”
With the win, the Lady Centurions also clinched their bid to the CIF state playoffs, set to begin on March 3.
Although he’s still focused on finishing the Southern Section playoffs with a championship, Falasca is glad to have more time to spend with this year’s team.
“Anytime you can extend your season and give these guys an extra game or extra time that I get to be a part of their lives is vital and important to me,” he said.
The Lady Centurions are set to go on the road for the semifinals and match up against the Camarillo Scorpions with the winner advancing the Division 2 championship.
The game between Saugus and the Scorpions is set to tip off 7 p.m. Saturday at Camarillo High School.
After Wednesday night’s games, here are scores from around the quarterfinals:
Valencia 52, Troy 48: In the quarterfinals of the Division 1 playoffs, the Valencia Vikings clinched their bid into the semifinals with a narrow road win over the Troy Warriors of Fullerton.
In the win, sophomore Kamila Basyrova led the Lady Vikings in scoring with 21 points and eight rebounds.
Along with the victory, the Lady Vikings have also clinched their bid into the CIF state playoffs, with seeding yet to be determined.
The Lady Vikings play next in the semifinals at home Saturday 7 p.m. against the visiting Windward Wildcats of Los Angeles.
St. Margaret’s 50, Canyon 47: In the quarterfinals of the Division 3 playoffs, the Canyon Cowboys fell short of a win at home against the visiting St. Margaret’s Tartans of San Juan Capistrano.
In the loss, sophomore guard Darby Dunn led Canyon in scoring with 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting.
With the loss, the Cowboys are eliminated from the playoffs.
Photos below from the Lady Centurion’s win over Portola:
