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Saugus Girls' Basketball Summer Check In (Video)
Saugus Girls' Basketball Summer Check In (Video)

Girls Basketball: Saugus Sweeps Valencia To Move To 6-0 In Foothill League

The Centurions scored a combined 45 points in the 2nd and 3rd quarters to pull away from Valencia, making it ten wins in a row for the fourth ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 2AA.

MaxPreps.com, the web site dedicated to providing a source for high school athletics records and statistical information, dates back as far as the 2004/05 season for girls basketball.

Not in any of the 15 seasons between 04/05 and 2019 had the Saugus Centurions accomplished what they did on Friday evening. A sweep of the Valencia Vikings and a perfect 6-0 start to the Foothill League season. Both are uncharted areas for the Centurions.

“Since we swept them? It’s been forever, I couldn’t even tell you,” said head coach Jason Conn after his team’s 73-64 victory at home. What does it mean to Saugus High School?

“It made a statement that Saugus Basketball has worked very hard over the last four years, and those freshman who are now seniors have made a statement that they’ve come a long way,” said Coach Conn.

Those seniors, particularly the experience of Monique Febles and Libbie McMahan, have played a lot of basketball together. They’ve helped bring juniors Eden MacKenzie and Riley Phipps along, and they formed a formidable group that has come together to post a 19-4 overall record with four games left in the regular season.

Holding just a 38-35 lead at halftime after trailing by three at the end of the first quarter, Saugus came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter, moving the ball quickly and playing unselfishly.

Libbie McMahan decided to take over as well. The Player of the Year candidate scored 15 points in the third quarter, shooting 3-for-3 from 3 point range. Riley Phipps had the other 3 pointer in the quarter, and she was sensational from behind the arc, knocking down six 3 pointers in the game. She finished with 22 points and McMahan had the game-high of 29.

The Centurions led 62-52 after three quarters, and did just enough to keep the Vikings at a distance in the fourth. Four games away from the immortal 10-0 league record.

“Team ball. Team ball. We are sharing the basketball better than we ever have the last four years … we don’t care who scores, we just want to win,” said Conn. “From the coaches on down, it’s all about what we can do for Saugus Basketball.”

Next up for Saugus (19-4, 6-0) is a road game at struggling West Ranch (1-12, 0-6). Tip off is scheduled for 5:00 on Tuesday.

KHTS Sports is your place for the 2019 Santa Clarita high school winter sports season and your Santa Clarita Dodgers coverage. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC. If you have any news and notes about our teams and players to share please send them to jp@hometownstation.com, like us on facebook.com/khtssports and follow us @KHTSSports on Twitter.

Girls Basketball: Saugus Sweeps Valencia To Move To 6-0 In Foothill League

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About Justin Powell

Justin moved to the San Fernando Valley from the Inland Empire in 2011 to complete his BA of Communications degree at California State University, Northridge. Just a few months after getting his degree he moved to Valencia and started as an intern at AM-1220 KHTS, and was promoted to Sports Reporter within a year. Though Justin is still relatively new to the Santa Clarita Valley, he is an avid sports fan and passionate about building the sports department at KHTS into a special source for local high school sports.