With their 8-4 South Coast Conference win over host Chaffey College on Wednesday, the Cerritos College women's water polo team stayed at the top of the standings. The Falcons (9-3) are now 4-0 in conference play and will travel to the San Diego Mesa Tournament over the weekend. They open with San Diego Miramar College at 2:30 p.m. on Friday and follow that with a 5:20 p.m. encounter with San Joaquin Delta College.

In the win over the Panthers (2-5, 2-1), Cerritos took an early 2-0 lead and were able to respond with the next goal after the host closed to within a goal twice in the first half.

With Cerritos leading, 2-1 early in the second quarter, sophomore Mikaela Padilla (Schurr HS) gave the team a 3-1 advantage with her second goal of the game. When Chaffey responded to make it 3-2, sophomore Vanessa Hinojosa (Bell Gardens HS) put the team on top 4-2 with 3:53 left in the first half. Hinojosa followed with another goal with 2:06 left, as the Falcons took a 5-2 lead into the half.

Tight defense aided the team in their win, and forced the Panthers to either get off bad shots or defended until the shot clock to ran out, which limited their chances. The goalkeeping tandem of Ivanna Tostado (Troy HS) and Dulce Medina (Paramount HS) combined for nine stops, with Medina checking in with three. Tostado got involved in the offense and assisted on the team's second and seventh goal of the day.

The trio of Hinojosa, Padilla and freshman Elisa Prohroff (Schurr HS) each scored twice, with sophomore Channon Owens (Kennedy HS) also assisting on two goals. Owens, Tostado and freshman Isabella Sierra (California HS) all recorded a pair of steals, with Owens also drawing four ejections against the Panthers.