Basketball Game Preview: Riverview Sarasota Rams vs. Venice Indians

The Riverview Sarasota Rams will face off against the Venice Indians at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.

Riverview Sarasota is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Thursday. They were the clear victor by a 73-52 margin over Sarasota. The Rams have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 11 contests by 20 points or more this season.

Taylor Davidson

Steals

02/06/25 vs Sarasota	7
01/29/25 vs Lennard	4
01/24/25 vs Berkeley Prep	4
01/22/25 vs Canterbury	6
01/21/25 vs Sumner	3
+ 13 more games

Riverview Sarasota found their leader in sophomore Taylor Davidson, who posted 16 points in addition to eight rebounds and seven steals. That's the most steals Davidson has posted since back in December of 2024. Kyrsten Montas was another key player, putting up nine points and five steals.

Meanwhile, Venice waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with six straight wins... but they left with seven. They breezed by the Bobcats to the tune of 57-22. Given the Indians' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 43rd, while the Bobcats are ranked 278th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Riverview Sarasota better keep an eye on Tessa Oleary. She was instrumental in Venice's win, going 9 of 14 on her way to 19 points and five boards. The game was Oleary's fifth in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Addison Ivery, who scored nine points along with seven assists and six steals.

Riverview Sarasota has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 20-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 59.8 points over those games. As for Venice, their record is now 16-5.

Riverview Sarasota came up short against Venice in their previous meeting back in December of 2024, falling 53-46. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Oleary, who went 10 for 19 en route to 30 points and six rebounds. Now that Riverview Sarasota knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.