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Girls basketball squads to battle for bragging rights
Hawks hosting Bulldogs this Thursday at 7:30
mmabie.tiff
Mikayla Mabie and Central Valley will compete against Ceres High in varsity girls basketball this week. Mabie ranks second in the WAC in scoring. - photo by DALE BUTLER/The Courier

Central Valley's varsity girls basketball team compiled a 1-1 record against crosstown-rival Ceres High last season.

The Hawks and Bulldogs will battle at CV this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Second-place Central Valley and third-place Ceres High enter the Western Athletic Conference game with 3-1 and 1-3 records, respectively.

"I don't know anything about them," said Hawks head coach Jesse Padilla, who offered no bulletin-board material leading up to the contest. "It's going to be an interesting matchup. I'm sure they want to win, too."

"It's going to be a good game," Bulldogs head coach Kristen McClure said. "It's always fun and competitive. The girls are excited. We'll be ready for them."

Nicole Bates, Ariel Knights and Karina Ceja will lead the Bulldogs.
Bates ranks first in the WAC in scoring. She averaged 20.8 points through the first four games.

Knights and Ceja are averaging 6.8 and 6.0 points, respectively.

Bates buried a wide-open jumper from the foul line at the buzzer to lift Ceres High to a 48-47 win over Central Valley during the second meeting between the two teams last season.

"They'll focus on Nicole a lot," McClure said. "That will allow the other players to show what they got."

Mikayla Mabie, Adriana Haynes and Lindsey Alexander will lead the Hawks.

Mikayla ranks second in the WAC in scoring. She averaged 19.5 points through the first four games.

Adriana and Lindsey are averaging 10.7 and 8.3 points, respectively.

Haynes played varsity basketball at Ceres High during the 2013-14 school year.

"We have to make sure Mikayla and Adriana don't go off," McClure said. "We've had a whole week to prepare. We have to come out strong."

Central Valley's conference wins came against El Capitan (45-33), Los Banos (73-22) and Pacheco (63-22).

The Hawks lost to Patterson (65-31).

Ceres High's lone league victory came against Los Banos (51-42).
The Bulldogs lost to Livingston (54-50), El Capitan (49-46) and Patterson (53-36).

"We should be 3-1 right now," McClure said. "We lost by four points in overtime to Livingston and three points to El Capitan. We didn't do the little things right."