Whitley, Geneva rout Rosary 85-53
The multiple ties and lead changes were long forgotten as the Geneva girls basketball team swept away any lingering Rosary hopes.
Geneva junior center Lauren Wicinski had back-to-back putbacks to engineer a game-closing run of significant proportions Friday afternoon in the championship game of Vikings' Thanksgiving tournament.
By the time the Vikings' superlative backcourt duo of Emily Hinchman and Taylor Whitley concluded its masterful performance, the Royals were left searching for answers. Hinchman delivered 18 points and Whitley repeated as tourney MVP with a season-best 38.
Geneva cruised to its fourth victory of the tournament by scoring 42 of the last 55 points in its 85-53 victory over Rosary.
"We fell apart after (the Wicinski field goals in which she was fouled on both)," said Rosary coach Dave Beebe. "(The Wicinski scores) got the snow ball rolling downhill. They sure lit it up today. We've never given up 85 points in a game since I've been at Rosary."
Rosary guard Stephanie Haugen, who finished with 16 points, halved the Vikings' lead to 43-40 on a 3-pointer, only to see Wicinski initiate the Geneva ambush with 3:37 left in the third.
"We were working really hard, and I was just in the right place at the right time," said Wicinski, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Taking their cue from Wicinski, Hinchman and Whitley soon made the championship game anticlimactic.
Hinchman was 8-for-10 on the afternoon, ending her tournament with a career-high 18 points, but her point total did not reflect her true value.
The senior guard interrupted the Royals' passing lanes with lethal effect, triggering a number of fastbreak opportunities that more often than naught were completed by Whitley. The Indiana State-bound guard concluded her final home tournament with flair: her 38 points matcedh her career best from two season ago against Glenbard South.
Whitley was cold to start the game from the perimeter, ultimately missing 13 shots on the day.
But Whitley simply retooled her approach, setting up teammates with 6 assists and unleashing a devastating second-half personal run in which she single-handedly outscored Rosary (13-10) in the fourth quarter.
"I tried to break for the basket because the outside shots weren't falling," Whitley said. "(Hinchman) just played an awesome game."
Whitley had a 3-point play in the waning seconds of the third quarter to give Geneva a 57-43 lead after three, and the Vikings the jackpot with 28 more in the fourth.
The Geneva onslaught overshadowed a gritty performance by Rosary junior center Jordan Rettig, who had 12 of her team-high 19 points in the opening quarter.