SPRING HILL - Crystal River coach Scott Lyons said he wasn't concerned about style points.
All he wanted was a victory.
His squad delivered one, but not before producing some tense moments.
Against a Central team it clobbered twice during the regular season, second-seeded Crystal River overcame a sluggish second half and a gritty performance by the seventh-seeded Bears on Monday in the Class 4A, District 9 quarterfinals to escape, 51-41.
"It's a win," Lyons said. "(Central coach Lori Lessley) did an outstanding job. They played really hard and made some shots. You have to give them a lot of credit."
The victory sends Crystal River (19-7) into a Thursday semifinal against No.3 Lecanto (20-5), which beat No.6 Citrus 62-25. Crystal River and Lecanto split their two-game regular-season series.
The Pirates led Central (5-21) by a seemingly comfortable margin, but the Bears, behind Jess Osorio (13 points) and Noemi Rivera (12), rallied in the fourth, cutting the margin to five with 1:20 left. Crystal River guard Lacey Lyons, however, helped seal it with three free throws down the stretch. She scored a game-high 25.
"It was getting scary," Pirates guard Amber Clark said.
Lecanto never was threatened.
The Panthers had a late surge in the second quarter from which Citrus (5-14) could not recover. Melissa Fatz led Lecanto with 10 points. Mary Ann Emberley added nine.
"All the girls came out and played really well," Panthers coach Ron Allan said. "They all did something."
