Bell scores 28 to lead MSJC past Citrus College

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Chris Mozga built the Mt. San Jacinto College women’s basketball program into a regional and state power before resigning at the end of last season. The Eagles captured five consecutive conference championships, as well as a CCCAA state championship in 2018 under the leadership of Mozga.

Taylor Bell, an assistant on the MSJC men’s staff under Patrick Springer and Trent Skinner, was promoted to coach the women’s program after Mozga stepped down.

The Eagles have not missed a beat. Bell guided the program to a sixth straight conference title, sharing IEAC championship honors with Victor Valley College. And Saturday night, Bell led a roster with eight freshmen to an 84-54 victory over Citrus College in a thirdround game of the CCCAA regional playoffs.

It was a win in which the No. 5-seeded Eagles never trailed. It also sets up a showdown at No. 4-seeded Orange Coast College on Saturday, with the winner stamping a ticket to the CCCAA state finals at Mt. San Antonio College. The finals will feature four teams from Southern California and four from Northern California.

“This program has a great history, winning tradition, and I was excited to be given the opportunity to keep that tradition alive,” Bell said. “We like to play with pace, and I was impressed with how we executed that plan tonight.”

MSJC (23-4) opened the game with a 14-2 run covering the first 2 1/2 minutes. Jana Roman scoring six out of eight points during one stretch on a pair of putbacks and a jumper from the freethrow line. Valeria Brewer and Drasoni Kyles hit two of the Eagles’ 10 shots from 3-point range during that push.

Citrus (20-10) cut the deficit to nine points after Kristin Morella scored five of the Owls’ final seven points of the first quarter on a 3 pointer and a pair of free throws. But Roman hit a shot to restore a double-digit lead after 10 minutes of play.

“Our energy and effort just wasn’t there tonight against a team known for their pace,” Citrus interim head coach Jeriko Santos said. “However, I couldn’t be prouder of these ladies and the year they had.”

MSJC put together a 12-0 run to start the second quarter and pushed the advantage to 41-18 with 7:15 remaining in the first half.

Breyonna Bell started the run with a 3-pointer and finished it by going 3 for 3 at the free-throw line after getting fouled on a shot beyond the arc. Bell led all scorers with a career-high 28 points and went 5 for 11 from 3-point range in the win while adding five steals in 34 minutes.

“I knew during warmups that it was going to be a good shooting day,” Bell said. “As long as we keep up the energy we had tonight on the floor this week in practice preparing for OCC, we’ll be fine on the road.”

Roman, a Beaumont High School graduate, tallied 18 points with 17 rebounds and five assists, while Alaysia Kidwell (Patriot High School) added 10 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for MSJC.

Citrus was led by Kristin Morella’s 25 points, while Jolleen Olia, ranked eighth in the CCCAA in scoring, added 14 points with four assists.