Central Valley’s girls basketball team accomplished a first this season by breaking into the win column.

Ceres High snapped a five-game losing streak.

“It definitely feels good to get a win,” Hawks’ head coach Derrick Goblirsch said. “We’ve been playing better over the last few weeks. We want to continue to improve. That’s the goal.”

Central Valley bested Denair and battled Los Banos last week.

The Hawks (1-7) ended a six-game skid with a 40-37 victory at Denair on Dec. 16.

“We’re trying to find our identity,” Goblirsch said. “It’s a long process trying to get the girls to figure out everything. They’re starting to get more comfortable in their roles.”

Ari Martinez led Central Valley with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Bella Delatorre added six points, 11 rebounds, four steals and one block.

Emily Mariani had five points, 11 rebounds and two assists.

Serath Birring had five points, five steals and one rebound.

Dulce Del Valle had four points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist.

“Everybody contributed,” Goblirsch said.

The Hawks grabbed their first lead of the contest with four minutes left in regulation.

“It was super competitive from start to finish,” Goblirsch said. “It was a physical game. We won the turnover battle and made some free throws. We crashed the boards as well.”

Central Valley challenged Los Banos before suffering a 43-31 loss on Dec. 17 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

The Hawks lost 42-21 to the Tigers last season.

“We had this game highlighted on our schedule,” Goblirsch said. “They beat us bad last year. We were competitive this year. It was a six-point game in the fourth quarter. We played with a lot of confidence against a good team.”

Martinez led Central Valley during this year’s meeting with 11 points, six rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block.

Mariani collected six points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.

Lilyanna Madrigal had four points and five rebounds.

Ceres High improved to 3-5 overall with a 52-50 win over Golden Valley on Dec. 16 in Merced.

BOYS HOOPS

Central Valley’s boys basketball team lost to Escalon, Turlock and Hughson in a four-day span last week.

Ceres High suffered a loss while competing against Golden Valley.

“We’re making steady improvements,” Bulldogs’ head coach Darae Taylor said. “We’re trying to change old habits and become savvier.”

Ceres High dropped to 5-6 overall after losing 70-51 to visiting Golden Valley on Dec. 16 at Phil de la Porte Gymnasium.

“We played well enough to stay in the game,” Taylor said. “We didn’t execute well enough to win the game.”

Tayden Galton led the Bulldogs with 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Joel Cortez added 15 points.

Cashton Almeida had eight points, 11 rebounds and four steals.

Ceres High committed 18 turnovers versus Golden Valley.

“It’s super tough playing from behind and trying to overcome deficits,” Taylor said. “It’s an uphill battle. The thing you can control is unforced turnovers. You have to be locked in mentally from start to finish.”

Central Valley dropped to 5-7 overall following Friday’s 69-25 setback at Escalon.

“It was one of those games,” Hawks’ head coach Mike Rodriguez said. “It might have been a letdown from the previous night. We blew an 18-point lead against Turlock.”

Michael Martinez scored a team-high nine points versus Escalon.

Xavier Manor tallied eight points.

Central Valley fell 58-55 at Turlock on Dec. 18.

The host Bulldogs battled back from an 18-point deficit.

“The second half, we didn’t rebound as well,” coach Rodriguez said. “We started missing shots we were hitting earlier in the game.”

Jaylan Tagadaya led the Hawks with 19 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Martinez had 14 points and four rebounds.

David Gutierrez had 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Host Hughson edged Central Valley 50-49 on Dec. 16.

The Hawks trailed by as much as 13 points in the first half.

“We had a chance to win it at the end,” coach Rodriguez said.

Manor led the Hawks with 13 points, three steals, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Gutierrez had nine points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists.

Martinez had nine points, five rebounds, one block and one steal.