The members of Ceres High School's freshman girls basketball team were greeted with a loud ovation while returning to the court for the start of the third quarter during last week's crosstown showdown with Central Valley.
The Bulldogs built a 14-point lead in the first half and coasted to a 37-20 victory over the visiting Hawks on Thursday at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
Ceres High won the Western Athletic Conference title outright with a perfect 12-0 record and finished 20-1 on the year.
Central Valley (19-2, 9-2) placed second in league.
The Hawks need to win their final two games of the season to claim a share of the WAC crown.
"We wanted this really bad," Ceres High standout Kaytlin Donaldson said. "We deserved it. It means everything to us. We had a great season."
Donaldson and Ariel Knights led the Bulldogs in scoring with 12 points apiece.
Triana Burgess and Allyson Hailey added five and three points, respectively.
Jessica Arreola and Mahlena O'Neal contributed two points each.
Jasmine Moore had one point.
Central Valley's Sophia Kumar and Jadah Jackson both scored five points.
Dejhani Reliford tallied four points.
Simi Sahota, Celest Lepe and Krystal Salazar chipped in with two points each.
Ceres High outscored Central Valley 25-11 in the opening half.
Donaldson had six points in each of the first two quarters.
"My team needed me and I stepped it up," Kaytlin said. "We played great as a team."
The Bulldogs won their final 14 games.
"They played awesome," Ceres High assistant coach Kristen McClure said.
Added Donaldson: "Central Valley was our biggest competition."
The Bulldogs and Hawks posted a combined record of 39-3 this year.
CV sweeps CHS
Sparked by point guard Moses Ghiorso's aggressive play, Central Valley High School's freshman boys basketball team built a big lead in the first quarter and coasted to a 52-32 win over visiting Ceres High last Friday.
Ghiorso tallied 13 of his 15 points in the opening eight minutes as the Hawks doubled the Bulldogs' scoring output (22-11).
"It feels great beating our crosstown rival," he said. "We came out with a lot of energy."
Ruben Rodriguez shared the team lead in scoring with 15 points for Central Valley, which improved to 8-3 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Sunil Saini and Jeremi Camarena both added six points.
Austin Roberts and Dylan Robbins finished with three points apiece.
Ravinder Singh and Bobby Nieto contributed two points each.
Martin Reyes paced the Bulldogs (9-16, 4-8 WAC) with nine points.
Cole Silva and Harman Bansal collected six and four points, respectively.
Sebastian Arroyo, Erik Collins and Jas Dosanjh chipped in with three points apiece.
Ulises Diaz scored two points.
Louis Thomas and Blake Borba both had one point.
Central Valley limited Ceres High to just 26 points during the final three quarters.
The Bulldogs led 52-24 heading into the final period.
"I wanted to be in the game in the fourth quarter but I understand our second string needed more playing time," Ghiorso said. "We were up by more than 25 points."
Central Valley compiled a 2-0 record against Ceres High this season.
The Hawks won the first meeting, 55-41, on Jan 23.
"I was fired up coming into this game," Ghiorso said. "We were all confident. It's a big win. We executed. We worked hard. We never let up."
The Bulldogs built a 14-point lead in the first half and coasted to a 37-20 victory over the visiting Hawks on Thursday at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.
Ceres High won the Western Athletic Conference title outright with a perfect 12-0 record and finished 20-1 on the year.
Central Valley (19-2, 9-2) placed second in league.
The Hawks need to win their final two games of the season to claim a share of the WAC crown.
"We wanted this really bad," Ceres High standout Kaytlin Donaldson said. "We deserved it. It means everything to us. We had a great season."
Donaldson and Ariel Knights led the Bulldogs in scoring with 12 points apiece.
Triana Burgess and Allyson Hailey added five and three points, respectively.
Jessica Arreola and Mahlena O'Neal contributed two points each.
Jasmine Moore had one point.
Central Valley's Sophia Kumar and Jadah Jackson both scored five points.
Dejhani Reliford tallied four points.
Simi Sahota, Celest Lepe and Krystal Salazar chipped in with two points each.
Ceres High outscored Central Valley 25-11 in the opening half.
Donaldson had six points in each of the first two quarters.
"My team needed me and I stepped it up," Kaytlin said. "We played great as a team."
The Bulldogs won their final 14 games.
"They played awesome," Ceres High assistant coach Kristen McClure said.
Added Donaldson: "Central Valley was our biggest competition."
The Bulldogs and Hawks posted a combined record of 39-3 this year.
CV sweeps CHS
Sparked by point guard Moses Ghiorso's aggressive play, Central Valley High School's freshman boys basketball team built a big lead in the first quarter and coasted to a 52-32 win over visiting Ceres High last Friday.
Ghiorso tallied 13 of his 15 points in the opening eight minutes as the Hawks doubled the Bulldogs' scoring output (22-11).
"It feels great beating our crosstown rival," he said. "We came out with a lot of energy."
Ruben Rodriguez shared the team lead in scoring with 15 points for Central Valley, which improved to 8-3 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Sunil Saini and Jeremi Camarena both added six points.
Austin Roberts and Dylan Robbins finished with three points apiece.
Ravinder Singh and Bobby Nieto contributed two points each.
Martin Reyes paced the Bulldogs (9-16, 4-8 WAC) with nine points.
Cole Silva and Harman Bansal collected six and four points, respectively.
Sebastian Arroyo, Erik Collins and Jas Dosanjh chipped in with three points apiece.
Ulises Diaz scored two points.
Louis Thomas and Blake Borba both had one point.
Central Valley limited Ceres High to just 26 points during the final three quarters.
The Bulldogs led 52-24 heading into the final period.
"I wanted to be in the game in the fourth quarter but I understand our second string needed more playing time," Ghiorso said. "We were up by more than 25 points."
Central Valley compiled a 2-0 record against Ceres High this season.
The Hawks won the first meeting, 55-41, on Jan 23.
"I was fired up coming into this game," Ghiorso said. "We were all confident. It's a big win. We executed. We worked hard. We never let up."
