Central Valley’s junior-varsity girls basketball team showed a tremendous amount of improvement during its rematch against crosstown-rival Ceres High.

The Hawks put up a fight before losing 37-31 at home to the Bulldogs on Jan. 23.

Ceres High rolled to a 47-31 win over Central Valley at the Livingston Tournament on Dec. 21.

“I told them to not hang their heads,” Hawks’ head coach Alyssa Long said. “This is the best game they’ve played this season. They fought until the end. A lot of teams are underestimating us. We’re supposed to roll over. We’re proving them wrong.”

Central Valley had an overall record of 8-12 and sat in last place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 1-7 mark as of Monday.

Ceres High had an overall record of 9-11 and sat in third place in the WAC standings with a 5-3 mark as of Feb. 3.

“They’ve grown exponentially,” Long said. “They have a lot of fun as a team. I have a lot of fun with them. I’m not just a coach. But I’m a teacher. You know when to push a player or lay off. I have patience.”

“They do have such a love for the game,” she added. “They do love working with each other. They’re so highly-motivated and positive. They have each other’s back. There’s a real sense of family.”

Hawk Emily Carranza scored a team-high 21 points versus the Bulldogs during the second meeting.

Kerry Russell added five points.

Kassandra Zamora totaled three points.

Mia Ceja had two points.

Ceres High’s Camila Sims scored a team-high 23 points against Central Valley.

Adalena Luna added six points.

Kami Terry totaled four points.

Paola Trujillo and Genn Martinez-Angulo both had two points

The Hawks competed shorthanded against the Bulldogs as three players were sidelined for various reasons, including injury, illness and vacation.

“Because we only had five players, it forced them to communicate and share the ball,” Long said. “There was nobody to sub in. It was survival for them. They leaned on each other.”

Long believes the Hawks are headed in the right direction.

“CV isn’t known for its girls basketball right now,” she stated. “We’ve been trying to build the program for some time. We do have a good group of girls on every level. We want to make sure they have fun because we do want them to come back.”