Central Valley High School's junior-varsity girls basketball team has improved greatly since the start of the season.

The Hawks lost eight of nine non-conference games.

Central Valley improved to 6-11 on the year and 5-3 in the Western Athletic Conference after beating one of its two opponents this past week.

"It's a totally different atmosphere now," Hawks head coach Jode Johnson said. "They got a lot more confidence. They know what they're supposed to be doing."

Central Valley posted a 55-37 victory over El Capitan on Thursday in Ceres.

Angelica Duarte totaled a team-high 11 points.

Adria Robinson added 10 points.

Blanca Espinoza and Ishvir Chahal collected nine points each.

Delores Uti and Annalicia Carbone tallied eight and four points, respectively.

Gabriela Bonales and Victoria Castillo chipped in two points apiece.

Ahead by just one point, Central Valley outscored El Capitan 34-17 in the second half.

The Hawks pulled away thanks to a 20-7 run in the final period.

"We came out a little slower than usual," Johnson said. "We stepped it up more on defense in the second half. We played our game. We built momentum off steals."

Central Valley lost 47-31 at Patterson on Jan. 27.

Duarte knocked down three treys on her way to totaling 11 points.

Robinson, Castillo, Espinoza and Chahal contributed eight, six, three and two points, respectively.

Bonales had one point.

Tied at 13-all at the end of the first quarter, the Hawks mustered just 18 points the rest of the game. The Tigers scored 34 points.

Uti did not play against Patterson. Out sick, Delores usually starts at small forward.

"Everything goes through her on offense," Johnson said. "We just didn't have a presence in the post."