Ceres High School's varsity girls basketball team dropped its first five league games.

The Bulldogs notched their second straight win in Western Athletic Conference play this past week.

Ceres High rallied for a 50-45 win while competing against Pacheco on Thursday in Los Banos.

"We deserved to win," Bulldogs head coach Heather Jones said.

Ceres High improved to 2-5 in the WAC standings.

"My team works so hard at practice," Jones said. "I knew one day it was going to show in games. I'm so proud of them."

Nicole Bates poured in a game-high 20 points for the Bulldogs.

Jessica Arreola, Perla Vargas, Adriana Haynes and Triana Burgess tallied 12, eight, seven and two points, respectively.

Kinsey Ward had one point.

The Bulldogs battled back from a 26-19 halftime in beating the Panthers last week.

Ceres High outscored Pacheco 19-6 in the third quarter.
Arreola totaled eight points.

Bates accounted for nine of the Bulldogs' 12 fourth-quarter points.

Ceres High snapped a five-game conference losing streak with a 48-47 victory against crosstown-rival Central Valley on Jan. 23.

"After every loss, you could see the hurt in their eyes," Jones said. "We look like a totally different team now. The past three weeks, I've noticed a big difference in their commitment to defense. Defense wins games."

The Bulldogs will play host to Central Catholic this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

"We have grown as a team," Jones said. "I know I'm going to see more improvement."