Hurricanes stymie Eagles in district semifinals

OCALA — Thursday’s District 6A-6 basketball semifinal contest between the Citrus and Springstead girls was virtually a mere formality.

The ’Canes (24-2 overall) came in with an 8-0 district mark that included two defeats of the Eagles by at least 40 points each.

Springstead, meanwhile, nudged its way into the tournament, despite carrying an 0-8 league record, with an upset over No. 4 seed Central in Tuesday’s play-in game.

Regardless of the opponent, Citrus put in a motivated effort, forcing a running clock for most of the second half while beating the Bulldogs 57-16 in the West Port gym to advance to Friday night’s district championship game against the Wolf Pack, who got by Lecanto 59-48 earlier in the evening.

In the first three minutes, it looked like the ’Canes might have been feeling the weight of expectations, or possibly the rust of nearly a week off.

But after leading just 6-5 as the midway point of the quarter approached, the rout ensued as the Citrus press took over and the shots began to fall on the offensive end. The ’Canes collected nine team steals in the second period and held Springstead (5-19) scoreless from the field during the quarter to take a 40-9 advantage into the break.
Citrus coach Brian Lattin was proud of his team’s in-game improvements and defensive effort.

“Our defense was our best offense tonight,” Lattin said. “That’s what you hope to get when you press. It was nice to see the kids get back to the district title game with how hard they worked this year.

“We played four straight three-game weeks, and we haven’t played since last Friday, so you’re always worried you might come out flat, and you’re concerned about where the nerves will be with what’s on the line,” Lattin continued. “But we were able to play through it.”

The ’Canes enjoyed contributions from their entire roster. Citrus junior guard Lindsay Connors scored nine of her 11 points in the decisive second quarter, and had four steals. Sophomore forward Micah Jenkins and senior center Paige Garvin each chipped in 10 points for the ‘Canes, while Jenkins also added five steals.

Citrus also got eight points and three steals from junior Marissa Dubois, as well as six first-quarter points from junior guard Elizabeth Lynch. ’Canes senior forward Mary Wheeler (four points) had a pair of blocks and a couple of steals, and sophomore forward Shenelle Toxen made four steals to match her four points for Citrus.

Eagles sophomore guard Anna Poholek led her team with six points and eight rebounds.

Afterward, Connors described her squad’s confidence and preparedness.

“When we get down, we don’t ever put our heads down,” Connors said. “We’ve been in games where we’ve been down 13 or 14 at the half, but we’ve come back.

“I feel like we’re ready for West Port,” Connors added. “It’s two good teams that are going to come out pumped and ready to play.”

Lattin also expects an intense matchup and is concerned with West Port senior guard R’kiyah Scott, who is averaging more than 22 points per game.

“It’s going to be a tough game, no doubt, especially on their home court,” Lattin said of the Wolf Pack. “I think they’ve won seven district titles in a row, and we were fortunate to come out on top in both games against them this year.

Lattin added, “Scott is phenomenal, but we know we can play with them, for sure.”