Haines City and Venice squared off in some playoff action on Tuesday, but Haines City had to settle for second. They fell just short of the Venice Indians by a score of 54-52. The Hornets were not able to make up for their defeat to the Indians from their previous meeting back in February of 2024.

Delyana Morris
02/18/25 vs Venice | 5 |
02/13/25 vs Sumner | 2 |
02/06/25 vs Celebration | 3 |
02/04/25 vs Davenport | 2 |
02/01/25 @ Seffner Christian | 2 |
Several Hornets players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Delyana Morris, who almost dropped a double-double with 17 points and nine boards. Morris has been hot, having also posted two or more steals the last five times she's played. Olivia Howard was another key player, almost dropping a double-double with ten points and nine rebounds.
Even though they lost, Haines City smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 24 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 15 offensive boards in five consecutive matches.
Venice was led to victory by Tessa Oleary and Zoe O'Leary. Oleary went 7-for-17 to rack up 28 points in addition to five assists and five boards, while O'Leary posted ten points along with eight rebounds and three steals. Another player making a difference was Addison Ivery, who earned five points along with six boards and three steals.
Haines City's loss dropped their record down to 21-6. As for Venice, they are on a roll lately: they've won 12 of their last 13 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 19-5 record this season.
Haines City does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Venice, they will face off against Winter Haven at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Winter Haven sitting on 16 straight victories and Venice on ten.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps