Update: El Capitan girls basketball team clinches CCC championship
Update:
The El Capitan High girls basketball team is the champion of the Central California Conference.
The Gauchos routed Golden Valley 73-47 on Tuesday night to improve to 9-0 in the CCC. El Capitan leads second-place Atwater (7-2) with one game to play. It’s the first outright league title for the Gauchos’ girls basketball program.
El Capitan is now 24-2 and has won 15 consecutive games.
Senior Mady Dietz and sophomore Alexis Valenzuela each scored 12 points to top the Gauchos in the win over Golden Valley.
El Capitan can complete a perfect CCC season with a win over Los Banos at home Thursday night. Tipoff is 7:15.
Then it’s time for the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.
First-year coach Adam Her talked to the Merced Unified High School District’s Shawn Jansen after the game about staying focused for the postseason.
“Now that we’re there we’re gearing up for a playoff push,” Her said. “We have to stay locked in. It’s easy to lose focus as you’re getting to the end of the season. We know if you really want to make it to the next level, we have to stay super sharp and vigilant in our practices.”
Here’s an updated look at the CCC girls standings after Tuesday night’s games:
- El Capitan 9-0
- Atwater 7-2
- Merced 4-5
- Los Banos 5-4
- Golden Valley 1-7
- Buhach Colony 0-8
Original story:
It has been a dream season for the El Capitan High girls basketball team. But it’s not over yet.
The Gauchos can clinch an outright Central California Conference title Tuesday night at home against Golden Valley. Tipoff is at 7:15 p.m.
The Gauchos (23-2 overall) opened the season with a loss to Christian Brothers but have gone 23-1 since, including 14 consecutive wins.
El Capitan features a nice balance of senior leadership and youthful exuberance.
Senior guards Mady Dietz and Avnoor Bains both have surpassed 1,000 career points, and senior forward Jordynn Middleton leads the team in rebounds.
Sophomore Alexis Valenzuela leads the Gauchos with 14.4 points a game, while junior Rayonn Maxie contributes 9.8 points a game.
The Gauchos already have punched their ticket to the postseason.
El Capitan is ranked fourth in the MaxPreps Sac-Joaquin Section Division II rankings, just behind Christian Brothers.
Atwater, second place in the CCC at 6-2 and 15-10 overall, is ranked eighth in the MaxPreps D-II rankings.
The section will announce playoff brackets Saturday. The Modesto Bee’s Quinton Hamilton and The Sacramento Bee’s Joe Davidson will join the section’s Will DeBoard for a selection show at 1 p.m. at the section website, cifsjs.org.
Here’s an updated look at the CCC girls standings:
- El Capitan 8-0
- Atwater 6-2
- Merced 4-4
- Los Banos 4-4
- Golden Valley 1-6
- Buhach Colony 0-7
This story was originally published February 9, 2026 at 2:45 PM.
