FAIRMONT — Fairmont junior center Claire Cutler and Cardinal sophomore forward Taylor Crissinger combined for 44 points on the strength of 21-for-33 field goal shooting during Tuesday night’s postseason basketball opener at Cardinal Gym.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, however, countered Fairmont’s powers in the post by utilizing a three-pronged perimeter attack to swoosh 9 of 15 from behind the 3-point arc, including 8 for 12 during the initial 18 minutes in Fairmont.

Senior forward Kate Masberg produced a team-best 19 points, including three treys, and eighth-grade point guard Brielle Bartelt drilled four 3s en route to 16 points to help the No. 5-seeded Bucs upend the No. 4-seeded Cardinals, 67-59, during Section 2AA, South Sub-Section quarterfinal action.

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (13-14) advances to face No. 1-seeded New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva in a 6 p.m. sub-section semifinal Friday night at Mankato East High School. The Panthers reached the next round via a 53-23 triumph over No. 8-seeded St. James Area.

Fairmont ended its season with an 11-15 overall record.

“We knew coming into this game that Fairmont had quite a height advantage over us, so our guards were going to have to take care of the basketball and shoot well from the outside,” said WEM head coach Gabe Hauer. “When your team makes 8 of 12 from 3-point range, it makes it pretty easy to coach in a game like this.”

Ironically, Claire Cutler garnered one of her game-best 11 rebounds and hit the putback basket for two of her game-high 24 points to stake the Cardinals to a quick 2-0 lead in the playoff opener.

The Bucs’ backcourt foursome of MaeLea Harmon, Shelby Hermel, Masberg and Bartelt then scorched the nylon nets from the perimeter and penetrated the lane to reel off 11 unanswered points.

Hermel, who finished with 10 points to complement four steals, nailed a 3 before Crissinger maneuvered along the baseline for a leaner and two of her 20 points to end Fairmont’s offensive drought at 11-4 at the 14-minute juncture.

Masberg then snapped the nets on a pair of bookend 3s around the first of Bartelt’s four trifectas to build a 20-4 lead for the Bucs.

Claire Cutler then pounded the low post for nine of her 11 first-half points to prevent the Cardinals from falling behind by more as the Bucs held a 37-24 halftime edge.

Fairmont’s full-court defensive pressure reaped dividends as Crissinger erupted for 18 of the home team’s 35 second-half points to eventually reduce the Cardinals’ deficit to 10 points.

Claire Cutler accounted for 13 of the Cardinals’ remaining 17 points during the final 18 minutes, but they could not get any closer than eight down the stretch.

Hermel converted a pivotal one-and-one situation with 2 minutes remaining for a 60-48 lead, while Masberg connected on 6 of 8 free throws to seal the Bucs’ victory.

Bartelt and Masberg each pocketed four steals for WEM, Harmon chipped in 11 points, while Maddy Meskan added five points and pulled down a team-best nine boards.

Brenna Cutler tallied seven points off the Cardinals’ bench, Abby DeWitt doled out a game-high six assists, while Brooke Hunwardsen distributed three assists.

WEM 37-30–67

FHS 24-35–59

FAIRMONT (59)

Crissinger 10-17 0-0 20, Hunwardsen 0-6 1-4 1, C. Cutler 11-16 1-3 24, Lunn 1-3 0-0 2, DeWitt 1-7 0-2 3, B. Cutler 3-8 1-2 7, Lardy 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-58 3-11 59.

WEM (67)

Masberg 5-10 6-10 19, Kuball 1-3 0-0 2, Meskan 2-2 1-3 5, Harmon 4-6 2-6 11, Hermel 3-6 3-5 10, Bartelt 6-9 0-0 16, Androli 1-2 0-0 2, Nusbaum 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-40 12-24 67.

3-pointers: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 9-15 (Bartelt 4-5, Masberg 3-5, Harmon 1-1, Hermel 1-4); Fairmont 2-11 (C. Cutler 1-2, DeWitt 1-4, Hunwardsen 0-4, Crissinger 0-1). Fouled out: B. Cutler. Rebounds: FHS 27 (C. Cutler 11); WEM 25 (Meskan 9). Assists: WEM 12 (Masberg and Bartelt 4 each); FHS 11 (DeWitt 6, Hunwardsen 3). Steals: FHS 9 (C. Cutler 4); WEM 6 (Hermel 4).

Blue Earth Area 62, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial 42 — Caitlin Rorman produced a game-best 19 points to complement seven rebounds and three assists to power the No. 2-seeded Bucs to a 20-point first-round playoff victory over the No. 7-seeded Knights on Tuesday in Blue Earth.

Blue Earth Area (14-12) advances to play No. 3-seeded Maple River (16-9) at 7:45 p.m. Friday night at Mankato East in a Section 2AA, South Sub-Section semifinal game. Maple River gained the next round by downing No. 6-seeded Medford, 60-45.

Samantha Barslou generated eight points and pocketed three steals for the Bucs, while teammate Lindsey Norman pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with three points.

The Bucs connected on 22 of 75 field goals overall and 16 of 21 from the free throw line during the postseason game.

Blue Earth Area led 26-23 at halftime before outscoring LCWM by a 36-19 margin during the final 18 minutes to put the game in the win column.

Norman and Rorman paced the Bucs in hauling down 24 rebounds on the contest.

Lakesha Carter netted 18 points to top LCWM, which closed out the season with a 6-19 record.