Ceres High’s girls basketball team struggled to a 7-20 overall record and sixth-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference standings this winter.

“It’s a little surprising because he had a lot of girls returning from last season,” head coach Michael Estrada Jr. said. “I could have done a better job of creating an environment where the girls could communicate and play better as a team. I have to find out how to be a better leader.”

Ceres High closed out the 2021-22 season with a 73-37 loss at Mountain House on Feb. 10. 

“We gave our best effort,” Estrada said. “We just didn’t have enough offensive firepower and rebounding to make it a game.”

Celeste Leon led the Bulldogs with 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists.

Jaleen Melendez had eight points, three steals and one rebound.

Alayna De La Torre added seven points, six rebounds and one assist.

Sandra Espinoza had two points, three rebounds and two assists.

Alexa Sandoval had one point and one rebound.

Ceres High lost 53-45 at Grace Davis on Feb. 8.

“It was a competitive game until the end,” Estrada said. “Our mistakes on defense cost us.”

Leon led the Bulldogs with 29 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

De La Torre had eight points, two rebounds and two assists.

Melendez had four points, two rebounds and two assists.

Espinoza had three points, six rebounds and one assist.

Citlali had one point and two rebounds.

Ceres High (4-10) placed sixth in the WAC standings.

Beyer (12-2) claimed the league title.

Lathrop (11-3), Johansen (9-5), Mountain House (8-6) and Pacheco (6-8) finished second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Beyer (3-11) and Grace Davis (3-11) tied for last.

The Bulldogs lost their final nine games.

“Our record doesn’t represent the talent we had,” Estrada said. “Other teams just worked a little bit better together and outhustled us. We might have to change our playing style next year.”

Ceres High will graduate six players, including four-year starters Leon and Mia Rodriguez.

Leon averaged 15.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game during her final season with the Bulldogs.

Rodriguez averaged 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.4 assists per game. She missed Ceres High’s final four games due to injury.

“It’s going to be tough to lose those two and start over with a new group,” Estrada said. “They gained a lot of confidence from freshmen year until now. They put in a lot of work. They developed as leaders. They deserved to have that (playoff) experience. We just couldn’t get there.”

Hawks improve

Winless a year ago, Central Valley’s boys basketball team compiled an 8-20 overall record during the 2021-22 campaign.

“We improved from the previous year,” Hawks’ head coach Mike Rodriguez said. “We got more wins. We’re going in the right direction. If you look at our team, we’re still young. We lose four seniors. We just got to work harder and have a good offseason.”

Central Valley dropped its season finale, 50-44, at Patterson on Feb. 11.

“The effort was there,” Rodriguez said. “We lost the game in the fourth quarter.”

Jordan Powers and Jeremy Alvarez led the Hawks in scoring with 15 points apiece.

Gage Mastropierro collected eight points.

Yoshi Kumar and Alex Prado both contributed three points.

Host El Capitan defeated Central Valley 64-40 on Feb. 9.

Kumar paced the Hawks with 11 points.

Cameron Bradshaw added nine points.

Central Valley lost 69-54 to Buhach Colony on Feb. 7 in Atwater.

Powers scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Mastropierro collected 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Kumar tallied eight points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

The Hawks dropped 16 of their final 17 games following a 7-4 start.

“I thought we’d do well, especially with the way we started the year,” Rodriguez said. “Everything was clicking. We just fell off after the Ceres game. We never put a full game together. Our shots weren’t falling. We turned the ball over a quite a bit. We didn’t figure out how to win as a team. We were inconsistent.”

Central Valley (0-12) placed last in the 2021-22 Central California Conference standings.

“It’s a tough league,” Rodriguez. “Four of the teams made the playoffs. We just got to work harder to compete with these teams.”

The Hawks had a 20-day gap between games during the course of the season due to COVID-19 protocols.

“That didn’t help us,” Rodriguez said. “But a lot of teams went through that.”

Central Valley will lose four players to graduation, including Powers, Kumar, Willy Souksavath and Erick Pena.

Powers and Kumar ranked first and third on the team in scoring this season.

“They’re really great kids,” Rodriguez said. “High character. Good leaders.”