The 2025-26 season is a year to remember for the Saugus Centurions.
After winning the program’s first-ever state playoff games in the California Interscholastic Federation Division 2 bracket, the Centurions carried their momentum to the program’s first-ever appearance in a regional final.
The Centurions’ playoff run came to an end in the SoCal regional finals as the St. Joseph Knights of Santa Maria downed Saugus, 60-55, in Tuesday’s game.
Saugus took a narrow 28-26 lead going into halftime with the opportunity to advance to Sacramento for the state championships just a half away.
But in the third quarter, the Knights outscored the Centurions 22-12 and held Saugus at bay in the fourth quarter to complete the win.
The Centurions were led by senior guard EvaMarie Rios in scoring as she finished the night with 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting.
Rios ended the day with an all-around performance as she tallied eight rebounds, eight assists and two steals.
Senior guard Samantha Cortez also had a big night as she recorded 13 points in the loss on 6-for-20 shooting.
Cortez was a big contributor on defense as she ended the day with five steals to her name along with five rebounds and two assists.
Junior forward Rachael Correa also ended with 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting and tallied seven rebounds, two steals and one block.
With the loss, the Centurions’ season comes to an end, and although the team ended the year without any hardware, it was still a historic year for Saugus.
The Centurions finished the season as CIF finalist, regional finalist, and ended the season with 27 wins, the most ever in a single season for the program.
