Ceres High’s girls basketball team reached the quarterfinals of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III Playoffs last week.

“I’m proud of what they accomplished,” said Megan McGill, third-year head coach of the Bulldogs. 

Tenth-seeded Ceres High knocked off seventh-seeded Los Banos 48-30 on the road in the first round of the playoffs on Feb. 18.

The Bulldogs ended nearly two decades of playoff futility.

Ceres High won its last postseason game during the 2005-06 school year.

“This is the first time it’s happened in 19 years,” McGill said. “We showed what we’re capable of.”

Gregori transfer Lilly Staggs totaled 20 points, seven steals, one rebound, one assist and one block during her playoff debut with Ceres High. 

Sovannary Carter added 10 points, five rebounds and one steal.

Arrayah Stallworth collected eight points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.

Hailey Tsurui had three points, four rebounds and one steal.

Mariah Renteria had two points, nine rebounds and one assist.

Makaela Brown had two points and three rebounds.

Haley Clark chipped in with one rebound and one steal. 

Alyssa Arbaugh and Presley Vierra both grabbed one rebound.

“We had a lower seed,” McGill said. “But we walked into the game expecting to win because I knew the seeding didn’t reflect our potential. We were more talented than our seed.”

Ceres High faced a familiar opponent in Los Banos, which competed in the Western Athletic Conference before moving to the Central California Conference as part of the section’s league realignment plan.

The Tigers posted a 17-10 overall record and finished fourth in the CCC with a 4-6 mark.

“We split with them last year,” McGill said. “I watched their film. We were prepared. We knew what to expect going into there.”

Ceres High seized control during the opening eight minutes of the second half.

“We scored more points in the third quarter than we did the whole first half,” McGill said. 

Ceres High closed out the 2024-25 season with a 67-34 loss to second-seeded Ponderosa in the quarterfinals on Feb. 20.

The Bruins fell 73-52 to the top-seeded Colfax Falcons in the section title game on Feb. 28.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge,” McGill said. “For us to get a win, we had to play our best for four quarters. They were very, disciplined.”

The Bulldogs trailed 17-11 at the end of the opening period.

Ponderosa outscored Ceres High 36-11 in the middle periods.

“The first quarter, it was very competitive. We played really good defense, moved the ball around and got some opens 3s. The second quarter, we started getting lost on defense and stopped running our offense. The ball was really stagnant.”

The Bulldogs compiled a 22-8 overall record and placed second in the WAC standings with a 10-4 mark this winter.

Ceres High participated in the playoffs for the second year in a row.

“We did not achieve everything we wanted to achieve,” McGill said. “Our goal was to be WAC champions. We missed that. We’ll accomplish more next year.”

Haley Tsurui, Bri Tsurui and Nehemiah Valenzuela will be lost to graduation.

“They brought experience and good energy to the team,” McGill said.

As many as seven players could return to the team in 2025-26, including Staggs, Carter, Stallworth, Renteria, Brown, Vierra and Rochell.

Staggs, Carter, Stallworth and Renteria started this year.

Arbaugh and Clark were promoted from junior varsity to varsity for playoffs.

“I’m happy for what we accomplished,” McGill said. “But I felt we could have done more. Next year, we’ll be even better. The good news is we’re returning seven players, including four of our starters.”

The Bulldogs have improved each season under McGill’s guidance.

Chris Lubinsky, Nikole Ferrel and Lauren Rosario have provided assistance.

Ceres High had seven different head coaches in a 10-year span prior to McGill’s hiring.

She coached girls basketball at the lower-level for three seasons before earning a promotion to varsity.

“We’ve been lucky to get a lot of talent coming into Ceres High,” McGill said. “Having coaches that really care about kids as a whole, not just basketball, really makes a big difference.”