Colleges: Mt. SAC, Citrus take a step towards Fresno

Above: Laura Beeman's Mounties opened the playoffs with a big win Saturday.

The Mt. San Antonio College women's basketball team and the Citrus men's team, both who won California Community College Athletic Association state titles last season, took the important first step to repeat, each scoring easy victories on Saturday.
The Mounties, getting 18 points from former Covina High star Blaire Egardo, scored an easy 76-51 victory over Cerritos, while Citrus got 25 points from Steven Bennett and rolled to a 95-81 victory over Victor Valley in the CCCAA Southern California Regional second-round games.
Both will play for Elite 8 appearances when they host SoCal Regional finals next week. Mt. SAC, which has won four of the past five CCCAA titles, host Fullerton. Citrus will be at home against Riverside City. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts. The CCCAA Elite 8 is scheduled for March 12-15 in Fresno.
The Citrus women's team, making its first playoff appearance in four seasons, saw its year end with a 74-56 setback at No. 2 seed Ventura.