Basketball Recap: Lathrop Skates Past Central Valley with Ease

Lathrop had to skate by with only a two-point margin when they last took the court, which might have inspired the 29-point drubbing they dealt Central Valley on Tuesday. The Lathrop Spartans really took it to the Central Valley Hawks for the full four quarters, racking up a 51-22 win. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 44-41 back in January.

Lathrop's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jaleiyah Ray led the charge by putting up 14 points. Another player making a difference was Shakara Porter, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Lathrop was working as a unit and finished the game with ten assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Central Valley only posted three assists.

When it comes to explaining why Central Valley lost, don't look at Julyanna Valencia. Despite the final result, she posted nine points along with eight steals and seven boards. That's the most steals Valencia has posted since back in December of 2024.

Spartans

Previous 3 Games

02/11/25 @ Central Valley	51-22
02/06/25 @ Livingston	38-36
02/04/25 vs Johansen	43-14

The victory (which was Lathrop's third in a row) raised their record to 13-14. The wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 24.0 points over those games. As for Central Valley, their defeat was their seventh straight at home, which dropped their record down to 7-20.

Coming up, Lathrop will host Beyer at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Beyer is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 51.4 points per game this season. As for Central Valley, they are taking a road trip to square off against Ceres at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Ceres has been getting the ball to fall more lately as they've increased their point totals each of their last three games.