Pirates wear down 'Canes

It was a homecoming of sorts for the Citrus coaching staff, as Julie Bryant and former CR head man Charlie Bryant are on the bench for the Hurricanes.

“It’s always good to get a county win,” Crystal River first-year head coach Curtis Wells said. “A little bittersweet with Charlie and Julie on the other side, but it’s always good to get a win.”

Citrus took an early 4-2 lead on baskets by Mylene Cobb and Jill Landgraf, but a 3-pointer from Ijy’ana Edwards gave the Pirates a 5-4 lead. Crystal River would never trail again.

Another Edwards basket and a pair of buckets by Jaylin Devaughn made it a 12-4 Pirate lead. Citrus’ Landgraf scored seven points late in the first quarter to make it a 16-11 game entering the second period.

Crystal River upped the lead to double-digits early in the second quarter and took a 36-26 lead into halftime.

A pair of 3-pointers by Edwards and three buckets by Devaughn helped the lead grow to 58-33 by the end of the third quarter.

“We have chemistry so we’re always looking at feeding each other the ball,” Devaughn said of herself and Edwards.

Devaughn – who missed a couple games with a concussion – and Edwards each hit a 3-pointer to start the final quarter and eventually the running clock was put into effect.

“First half we struggled a little bit, but we came back out in the second half with a lot of energy,” Devaughn said. “We showed out and did pretty good.

“It feels good. We won a lot the first half of the season and in the second half I feel like we’ll just get stronger.”

Coach Wells was much happier with the performance in the second half.

“We were probably a little overconfident in the first half,” Wells said. “The second half we came out a little more fired up.”

With no one on the bench to give any starters a breather, the Hurricanes just wore down.

“I’m very proud of all the girls today and their hard work. They worked their hearts out today,” Julie Bryant said. “They are more comfortable with the way they’ve been playing. They’ve cut down on their turnovers and been playing well together.”

Devaughn led all scorers with 26 points, while Edwards was right behind her with 23.

“Having a solid backcourt with Jaylin and IG is a coach’s dream,” Wells said.

Angel Williams added 8 points, Maddie Peightal had 7, Regina Delarco 4, Damonica Richburgh 3 and Kirsten Sanders 2.

Landgraf – who is much healthier than early in the season – led the Hurricanes with 22 points.

“Jill is pretty healthy right now. And she’s looking to shoot more which is very nice to see,” Julie Bryant said.

Mylene Cobb added 11 points, Kendyl Hunnicutt 7 and Brooke Sanders 1.

“Mylene is learning. Her improvement is amazing. From when we first saw her to now she’s definitely much more of a leader,” Julie Bryant said of the Hurricane freshman. “Her shots are falling now. She’s going to be very dangerous in the years to come.”