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Strong inside game helps Citrus stuff Lecanto 51-40

LECANTO -- If Lecanto fans thought the opening shot was a sign of things to come, then the next six minutes must have come as quite a shock.

The Panthers opened Thursday's game against Citrus with a 3-pointer by Angel Hallal that brought the Lecanto crowd to its feet. But the revelers soon took their seats as the Hurricanes scored the next 12 points.

The points wouldn't come that easy again, but that didn't seem to matter as Citrus (15-7) overcame some rough patches and held on for a 51-40 victory.

The key this time, as it was in a 32-point win two weeks ago, was center Meaggen Anderson, who led all scorers with 24 points and hauled in a game-high nine rebounds.

"The guards did a good job moving the ball around and identifying Meaggen," Citrus coach Bruce Nelson said. "And every time they gave us the least bit of a seam, we got it in to her. We've just been getting great things out of Meaggen. She has 124 points in her last five games."

Lecanto (8-17) did a better job denying the 5-foot-11 Anderson the ball this time, but the Hurricanes' patience on the perimeter eventually paid off. Katie Steelfox, Citrus' leading scorer, was held to 11 points -- four below her average -- but contributed a game-high eight assists, almost all to Anderson. Steelfox also led all players with five steals. Nicole Parsons, playing in place of injured guard Myesha Hollis, contributed 12 points.

Citrus surged to a 10-point lead after one quarter, but could never completely put the Panthers away thanks to some solid interior defense from Nanci Thomas and Kate Wheeler, and foul trouble for Steelfox and point guard Alycia LePage. Wheeler scored eight of her 10 points in the second quarter and the Panthers pulled within six at the half.

The Hurricanes' lead grew to 15 points after three quarters. Anderson started the second half with seven consecutive points and Lecanto helped out by committing eight turnovers while scoring only four points in the third quarter.

The Panthers clawed back throughout the fourth quarter, pulling within nine points on a 3-pointer by Kylene Colasanti with 5 minutes, 35 seconds to play, but could never quite get over the hump.

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