Rio Mesa hasn't had much luck against Ventura recently, but that could start to change on Thursday. The Rio Mesa Spartans will face off against the Ventura Cougars at 7:00 p.m.
Last Tuesday, Rio Mesa had to suffer through a 64-28 loss at the hands of Buena. While losing is never fun, the Spartans can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 611th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 42nd).
Meanwhile, Ventura had already won 13 in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 19 points) and they went ahead and made it 14 on Tuesday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Royals 73-21. The Cougars have made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight matchups by 22 points or more this season.
Ventura's win came from a few key players Rio Mesa will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Kailee Staniland, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and ten assists. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in blocks (two). Another player making a difference was Brinley Anderson, who dropped a double-double on 19 points and 15 boards.
Ventura pushed their record up to 15-2 with the victory, which was their ninth straight on the road. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.2 points per game. As for Rio Mesa, their loss dropped their record down to 7-10.
Rio Mesa was dealt a bruising 81-18 defeat at the hands of Ventura when the teams last played back in January of 2024. Can Rio Mesa avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
