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Hawk Dhillon hits game-winner against Bulldogs
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Central Valleys Laiza Diaz tries to maneuver around Ceres Highs Harmen Bahia. Diaz and the Hawks edged Bahia and the host Bulldogs 42-41 in Western Athletic Conference play on Thursday. - photo by DALE BUTLER/The Courier

Ceres High School's junior-varsity girls basketball squad held a slim one-point lead and just eight seconds remained in the game.

Elizabeth Robinson caught an inbounds pass, raced up court and flipped the ball to Central Valley teammate Sunaina Dhillon.

Dhillon drained a shot from the middle of the key at the buzzer, lifting the crosstown-rival Hawks to a 42-41 victory over the Bulldogs on Thursday at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

"I didn't look at the time," said Dhillon, a freshman post player. "I just knew I had to get it off. I've never made a game-winning shot. Everybody should get the chance to do it. It feels great. My whole team is really proud of me."

The Hawks improved to 12-4 overall and 5-0 in the Western Athletic Conference standings.

The Bulldogs dropped to 9-8 and 3-2.

Dhillon totaled five points against Ceres High.

Robinson poured in a game-high 17 points.

Chetna Kumar, Laiza Diaz and Lupita Becerra collected seven, six and three points, respectively.

Trinity Avila and Mahogany Simon both had two points.

Harmen Bahia scored a team-high 14 points for Ceres High.

Angelina Ursua, Camryn Silva, Shelby Veuve and Hannah Kimbro tallied 11, eight, six and two points, respectively.

Ceres High appeared headed for an upset victory against Central Valley.

Ursua evened the score at 40-all when she buried two free throws.

Silva's foul shot gave the Bulldogs a 41-40 lead with 34 seconds to play.

"You should never think the game's over until the buzzer buzzes," Dhillon said. "I had faith in myself and teammates. That shot wouldn't have happened if Elizabeth didn't have confidence in me. It was a perfect pass."