Basketball Preview: Venice Indians vs. Palm Harbor University Hurricanes
The Venice Indians will face off against the Palm Harbor University Hurricanes at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Venice comes in on eight and Palm Harbor University on six.
Venice is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. They secured a 71-66 W over Riverview Sarasota. The Indians' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Zoe O'Leary
| 02/08/25 vs Riverview Sarasota | 63% |
| 02/06/25 vs North Port | 50% |
| 01/29/25 @ IMG Academy Blue | 69% |
| 01/20/25 vs Lemon Bay | 33% |
| 01/18/25 vs Keswick Christian | 63% |
| + 16 more games |
Venice had a senior duo take command as Zoe O'Leary dropped a double-double with 26 points and 12 boards and Tessa Oleary went 6 for 9 on her way to 21 points along with seven assists and six rebounds. Thanks to that strong game, O'Leary now owns an excellent 45.8% shooting accuracy. Addison Ivery was another key player, putting up 11 points in addition to seven assists and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Palm Harbor University didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against Sumner on Saturday, but they still walked away with a 55-49 win.
Palm Harbor University's win came from a few key players Venice will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Brenna Walters, who posted 15 points. The match was her third in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Devyn Lavelle, who went 5 of 8 to rack up 17 points and five boards.
Palm Harbor University smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in 17 consecutive games.
Palm Harbor University pushed their record up to 16-6 with the victory, which was their fifth straight at home. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 62.0 points over those games. As for Venice, their win bumped their record up to 17-5.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Venice has been crashing the boards this season, having averaged 30.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Palm Harbor University struggles in that department as they've been averaging 40.2 boards. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other basketball content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
