Oskaloosa gave Knoxville all it could handle during the first 8 minutes of the game only to see the Panthers score 12 unanswered points to begin the second quarter on their way to a convincing 68-26 Little Hawkeye Conference victory Friday night.

The Indians (0-9 overall, 0-6 LHC) kept pace with the Panthers (10-1, 6-1) in the opening period. Oskaloosa took its only lead of the game at 8-7 on a pair or Megan Gott free throws with 3:49 remaining in the quarter.

But Knoxville regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Sam Abens — her only basket of the game — and never looked back. 

After Steph Kingery scored on an offensive rebound, the Indians made it a 12-11 contest on a Allison Rohloff free throw and a bucket by Sarah Hynick late in the quarter.

Then the turnover bug hit Oskaloosa on its next seven possessions, yet Knoxville could managed just five points off those miscues.

The Panthers took control of the game at the 6:18 mark of the second quarter when Rohloff was going in for a potential basket and thought she was fouled on the play. The senior was whistled for a technical foul and Ashley Larson made 1 of 2 foul shots. On the ensuing possession, Ashley Kingery converted a shot to make it 20-11. Kingery added two more baskets for a 24-11 margin before Hynick hit two free throws with 5:11 left in the half to snap the Indians’ scoring drought.

Oskaloosa coach Burdette Brown felt the Indians had Knoxville on the ropes and added the technical foul was a turning point in the game.

“We did have them, we had them, we had them, we had them,” Brown said disappointedly. “Doggone it, we came out and played so disciplined on offense and defense and we were killing them on the boards. We played so well as a team and then that technical foul and all of the sudden, the wheels fell off and everybody got real tentative. I think we didn’t know what to do, we were playing so well, it kind of scared them off. 

“That was head and shoulders, the best we’ve played. I thought we had turned the corner and I think we have, but that technical brought us down and just couldn’t get back in it.”

Oskaloosa managed only five free throws in the second quarter and got baskets from reserves Mindy Hornick, Cortney Major and Sam Lowry, who had her first field goal of the season, in the second half.

Oskaloosa is home Tuesday night for its next LHC contest when the Indians entertain Grinnell.

Knoxville 68, Oskaloosa 26 

Osky 11 5 5 5 — 16

Knox12 20 18 18 — 68