Central Valley High School's varsity girls basketball team found its groove just in time during last week's league opener versus Livingston.
The 2010-11 Western Athletic Conference champion Hawks used a 17-0 run in final four minutes to secure a hard-fought 56-42 road victory over the Wolves on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
"We have a big target on our back now," Central Valley head coach Jesse Padilla said. "Nobody has nothing to lose but us."
Three players scored in double figures for the Hawks, including Brittany Martinez, Mia Lorenzo and Valerie Olide.
Martinez tallied a team-high 14 points, Lorenzo had 13 and Olide added 12.
Diana Carmona totaled six points.
Vivien Fermil and Geena Wade chipped in four points apiece.
Melinda Camarillo contributed two points.
Livingston's Alexis Zazueta led all scorers with 20 points.
Central Valley faced a 42-39 deficit at the 5:12 mark of the fourth quarter. The Wolves would have led by more but missed four of six fouls shots in a one-minute span.
"I was scared at the end," Lorenzo said. "I didn't know if we would pull it out."
Mia played a major role during the Hawks' momentum-swaying 17-0 run. Central Valley took control after committing three consecutive turnovers.
"The more shots we make, the more confident we get," she said.
Mia tallied eight points, including six straight, to spark the Hawks. She made a layup, scored inside and converted two of three foul shots.
Olide had five points.
Carmona and Wade both scored two points.
The Hawks shot 73 percent (11 of 15) from the charity stripe in the final period. Central Valley made seven of its last 10 foul shots.
The Hawks held the Wolves scoreless for the five-plus minutes.
"Coach told us at halftime someone needs to take over," Lorenzo said. "I took a stand and did what I do. I decided to attack more because we weren't running the plays right."
Central Valley players were discouraged at intermission. The Hawks turned the ball over 18 times on their way to falling behind 22-20 in opening 16 minutes.
"I didn't say sit down," Padilla stated while ripping into his team. "Get in the corner over here. Are you kidding me? We're panicking for no reason."
Tigers 51, Hawks 45
Central Valley dropped to 10-4 on the year and 1-1 in WAC play following Thursday night's 51-45 loss at Patterson.
Fermil scored 13 points.
Carmona and Lorenzo finished with 10 points apiece.
Martinez and Olide were limited to six and five points, respectively.
The Tigers outscored the Hawks 31-25 after intermission.
"It was just one of those nights," Padilla said. "Our shots weren't doing down."
Central Valley, which will try to defend its WAC title, will face additional pressure each time it plays.
"We're trying to do better this year," Lorenzo said. "We need to focus more."
The Hawks will play host to Pacheco this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
The 2010-11 Western Athletic Conference champion Hawks used a 17-0 run in final four minutes to secure a hard-fought 56-42 road victory over the Wolves on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
"We have a big target on our back now," Central Valley head coach Jesse Padilla said. "Nobody has nothing to lose but us."
Three players scored in double figures for the Hawks, including Brittany Martinez, Mia Lorenzo and Valerie Olide.
Martinez tallied a team-high 14 points, Lorenzo had 13 and Olide added 12.
Diana Carmona totaled six points.
Vivien Fermil and Geena Wade chipped in four points apiece.
Melinda Camarillo contributed two points.
Livingston's Alexis Zazueta led all scorers with 20 points.
Central Valley faced a 42-39 deficit at the 5:12 mark of the fourth quarter. The Wolves would have led by more but missed four of six fouls shots in a one-minute span.
"I was scared at the end," Lorenzo said. "I didn't know if we would pull it out."
Mia played a major role during the Hawks' momentum-swaying 17-0 run. Central Valley took control after committing three consecutive turnovers.
"The more shots we make, the more confident we get," she said.
Mia tallied eight points, including six straight, to spark the Hawks. She made a layup, scored inside and converted two of three foul shots.
Olide had five points.
Carmona and Wade both scored two points.
The Hawks shot 73 percent (11 of 15) from the charity stripe in the final period. Central Valley made seven of its last 10 foul shots.
The Hawks held the Wolves scoreless for the five-plus minutes.
"Coach told us at halftime someone needs to take over," Lorenzo said. "I took a stand and did what I do. I decided to attack more because we weren't running the plays right."
Central Valley players were discouraged at intermission. The Hawks turned the ball over 18 times on their way to falling behind 22-20 in opening 16 minutes.
"I didn't say sit down," Padilla stated while ripping into his team. "Get in the corner over here. Are you kidding me? We're panicking for no reason."
Tigers 51, Hawks 45
Central Valley dropped to 10-4 on the year and 1-1 in WAC play following Thursday night's 51-45 loss at Patterson.
Fermil scored 13 points.
Carmona and Lorenzo finished with 10 points apiece.
Martinez and Olide were limited to six and five points, respectively.
The Tigers outscored the Hawks 31-25 after intermission.
"It was just one of those nights," Padilla said. "Our shots weren't doing down."
Central Valley, which will try to defend its WAC title, will face additional pressure each time it plays.
"We're trying to do better this year," Lorenzo said. "We need to focus more."
The Hawks will play host to Pacheco this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
