Vikings hit 80 behind Whitley's 31

Four-year Geneva standout Taylor Whitley went to the pines early Tuesday night against Oswego with two quick fouls.

But the Vikings' girls basketball team never missed a beat, and when the Indiana State-bound guard returned it was lights out for the Panthers.

Whitley poured in a game-high 31 points­ - in 20 minutes' playing time - and eight other Geneva players found the scoring column in the first half alone.

The Vikings won their second straight game in pool play of their own Thanksgiving tournament with an 80-61 victory over Oswego in Geneva.

"We all started off in foul trouble," Whitley said of fellow quick whistles on junior post players Kelsey Augustine and Lauren Wicinski. "We knew we had to stay composed. Whoever was out there really got it done. Our team has a ton of unselfish players."

The action was furious and lethal from an offensive standpoint.

Geneva never trailed; Sammy Schofield, spelling Whitley less than two minutes into the game, scored 7 of her 9 points to compensate for the loss of the Vikings' star.

Whitley returned to play the entire second quarter, scoring 8 points in bunches as the Vikings established the first of several double-digit leads.

Still, Oswego (3-1) refused to wilt under the Vikings' offensive discipline and defensive traps.

The Panthers drained nine 3-pointers to stay close, and Morgan Sartain banked home one of her three bombs at the second-quarter buzzer to slice the Geneva lead to 44-33 at the break.

"Both offenses were definitely playing well," Oswego coach Chad Pohlmann said.

The wall-to-wall action resumed without a hitch in the third quarter as the two teams played to a draw, Geneva countering the Panthers' continued 3-point wizardry with equally effective inside play.

"It speaks to the teamwork and unselfish play," Geneva coach Gina Nolan said.

Oswego whittled the Vikings' lead to single digits on several occasions in the third, but Whitley put the pesky guests away once and for all in the fourth.

In less than a two-minute span, Whitley scored 11 points to give Geneva a commanding 74-53 lead with 5:43 to play.

"(Whitley) just did what she does so well for us," said Nolan.

"We didn't defend like the way we're capable of," said Pohlmann. "We didn't take advantage of (the time Whitley was on the bench) like we needed to. She is an outstanding player."

Sam Dudman had 10 points for Geneva.

Katie Ziemnik paced Oswego with 15 points.