Nicole Bates' offensive outburst sparked Ceres High School's varsity girls basketball team.

The junior guard scored 25 of her game-high 32 points in the opening half of the Bulldogs' 51-23 dismantling of Western Athletic Conference rival Los Banos on Feb. 3 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

"She was on fire today," Ceres High head coach Kristen McClure said. "I wish everybody could play like that every time."

The Bulldogs improved to 7-9 overall and 4-5 in the WAC standings.

Los Banos dropped to 9-14 and 2-7.

Eight Bulldog players scored against the Tigers.

Cameron Diaz and Perla Vargas both tallied four points.
Karina Ceja collected three points.

Ariel Knights, Jade Moore, Jasmine Moore and Kinsey Ward chipped in with two points apiece.

Evelyn Johnson led the Tigers in scoring with eight points.

"This was our best game of the season," McClure said. "Our defense was awesome tonight. Hopefully, we can play like this against Patterson and Central Valley."

Ceres High rolled to an 18-4 lead in the first quarter. Bates accounted for all of the Bulldogs' points during a momentum-seizing 16-0 run. Nicole totaled nine points on three treys.

Ceres High will play host to crosstown-rival Central Valley tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.