Cal Poly Pomona’s entire athletics department is having a fantastic 50th year, and the Broncos women’s basketball team is keeping the ball rolling. Picked to finish second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association preseason poll, Cal Poly Pomona has won 10 of its last 11 games and is currently ranked No. 17 in the NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. The Broncos (10-2 overall, 5-1 CCAA) were No. 23 before defeating No. 3-ranked Montana State Billings 72-69 in December, and jumped up the poll despite a narrow 65-61 loss to No. 5 Cal State Dominguez Hills to start the new year. Danelle Bishop’s team now is coming off a 63-53 victory over Cal State L.A. on Saturday, Jan. 4, and travels to play at Chico State on Thursday and Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday. The Broncos currently are third behind unbeaten Chico State (6-0) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (6-0) in the CCAA standings. Six-foot sophomore forward Sydney Nelson had a career-high with 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win over previously-ranked Cal State L.A., and senior guard Kalaya Buggs added a career-high 15 points and four assists. Nelson, a Roosevelt High graduate, is averaging a team-high 14.3 points in 33.4 minutes per game this season. Buggs, who transferred from Coastal Carolina, is averaging 9.1 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals for the Broncos. Senior guard Breanna Ha continues to spread the floor with her 3-point shooting and is moving her way into the program’s record books. An Etiwanda graduate, Ha was just 2 of 8 from 3-point range – both in the fourth quarter – vs. Cal State L.A., but needs just 16 more made 3s to break the school mark (215). Bishop is in her 14th season as the Cal Poly Pomona head coach after previous stints at Azusa Pacific and California Baptist. She’s led the Broncos to eight NCAA Division II tournament appearances, including three Sweet Sixteen appearances (2011, ’14, ’15) and one Final Four (’14). The Broncos finished third in the CCAA with a 20-10 record last season and earned an at-large berth into the Division II tournament, losing 66-61 to Central Washington in the first round. With an illustrious history that includes five NCAA Division II national championships and one Basketball Hall of Famer (Violet Palmer), this Cal Poly Pomona team still has time to write its own story. But are they, like Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s soccer team, national title contenders? EAGLES ARE FLYING AGAIN The Mt. San Jacinto College women’s basketball team continues to soar. The No. 14-ranked Eagles (11-3 overall) have won seven consecutive after beating Rio Hondo 59-56 to win the Antelope Valley College tournament on Saturday, Jan. 4. Sophomore guard Princess McCauley had a game-high 19 points, sophomore forward Laisha Lazu grabbed 19 rebounds and freshman Kohen Marshall had 13 points off the bench for MSJC, which held a 14-point lead at halftime before holding on to win. Six-time reigning Inland Empire Athletic Conference champions, MSJC is off to a 2-0 start in conference and travels to San Bernardino Valley on Wednesday, Jan. 15. BULLDOGS AWARDED Following a second national championship in three years, the University of Redlands men’s water polo team grabbed all the postseason awards. Senior goalkeeper Roberto Barrera earned Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Division III player of the year honors after leading the Bulldogs to a 14-13 win over Chapman in the national championship game and a 15-12 overall record this season. Now a two-time ACWPC All-American, Barrera finishes his collegiate career with exactly 400 saves. Ryan Hall was selected ACWPC Division III coach of year for the second time (2022 & ’24) and joins Redlands Athletics hall of fame member Tom Whittemore as the program’s only two-time national coach of the year. First-year assistant Leo Yuno, a two-time NCAA All-American at UC Santa Barbara as a player, was selected as the ACWPC Division III assistant coach of the year. ODDS & ENDS The CBU Lancer Dive Invite is Thursday, Jan. 9 through Saturday Jan. 11 at the Riverside Aquatics Complex at Riverside City College. … Senior guard Dahmaj Warren scored a career high 34 points in 35 minutes as University of La Verne men’s basketball beat Howard Payne University 93-88 in Marshall, Tex. on Sunday, Jan. 5. … Sophomore center/forward Andre Skelin had his ninth double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds as Riverside City College men’s basketball beat Saddleback 79-61 on Friday, Jan. 3.