Basketball Recap: Lecanto Drops Highest Score of Season Against Crystal River

Panthers

Team Score

01/23/25 @ Crystal River	74
01/09/25 vs South Sumter	68
01/04/25 vs Land O' Lakes	66
01/10/25 vs Citrus	62
12/03/24 @ Central	58

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Lecanto). They simply couldn't be stopped on Thursday as they easily beat the Crystal River Pirates 74-41. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 48-47 back in December of 2024.

Lecanto's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Bryleigh Florio led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 23 points and nine assists. Florio has been hot for a while, having also posted two or more steals the last nine times she's played. Another player making a difference was Sophie Barbieri, who went 6 for 8 on her way to 17 points and seven boards.

Florio wasn't the only one working in the assists department: Lecanto was working as a unit and finished the game with 19 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since back in February of 2024.

Crystal River's loss came despite strong showings from Keyrra Ruiz and Aidian Cordero Santana. Ruiz went 6 of 14 en route to 18 points and five rebounds, while Cordero Santana went 6 for 12 on her way to 15 points. That was a full 43.9% of Crystal River's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's posted more than a third of the team's points. Sara Amsbury was another key player, putting up three points and ten boards.

Lecanto pushed their record up to 12-9 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.7 points per game. As for Crystal River, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-10 record this season.

Lecanto wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 56-39 defeat against Weeki Wachee on the 28th. As for Crystal River, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 68-36 loss against Springstead on the 28th.