FAIRMONT — Emma Gudahl and Rayah Quiring packed a potent 1-2 scoring punch off Fairmont’s bench during Friday night’s Big South Conference basketball clash with New Ulm.

Gudahl and Quiring combined for 29 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and five assists to power the hometown Cardinals’ 71-41 runaway victory over the Eagles in Fairmont.

“Emma and Rayah really gave us a spark to trigger a double-figure run midway through the first half,” said Fairmont head coach Sara Junkermeier.

Trailing 15-8 on the heels of New Ulm guard Kirsten Dennis’ third 3-pointer of the opening half, Quiring tossed in a baseline leaner to serve as the catalyst behind Fairmont’s pivotal 19-2 offensive avalanche.

Maggy Totzke transformed a steal into a layup before Faith Olson pocketed one of her game-best six thefts and delivered one of her game-high six assists to Brittney Mosloski for a breakaway lay-in to inch the Cardinals within 15-14 and cause an Eagles’ timeout at the 9:52 juncture.

After Hannah Osborne banked home a putback for two of her team-best 13 points for New Ulm, Gudahl reeled off seven unanswered points to swing the lead and momentum to Fairmont.

Gudahl banked home a 3-pointer off a Mosloski pass, pocketed a steal-turned-layup and floated home a right-wing runner. Madysen Allen doled out one of her three assists to Bryn Miller for a low-post basket, Cadence Becker worked the baseline for an off-balanced leaner and Olson spotted Miller for a low-post turnaround and 27-17 margin with 5 1/2 minutes to go before halftime.

Osborne temporarily halted the Cardinals’ run with two free throws before Quiring nailed a right-corner 3 off an Allen assist before Gudahl fed Allen for a breakaway off one of Fairmont’s 24 team steals. Quiring then banked in two more of her 14 points off a Mosloski entry pass for a 34-19 lead.

“We had a good balanced effort tonight,” said Junkermeier. “A lot of unselfish play, with all of our players finding an open teammate, getting them the ball and then those players finishing.”

Gudahl netted 15 points, Quiring 14, Allen tallied 11, Totzke tossed in nine, Miller contributed eight and Mosloski tallied six for Fairmont. The Cardinals’ reserves combined for 37 points, while Olson and defensive company pressured the Eagles into 34 turnovers, with the home team committing only 14 on the game.

Ahead 38-29 in the early stages of the second half, Totzke drilled a top-of-the-key 3 to trigger Fairmont’s ensuing 11-0 surge to put the game out of reach.

Miller converted an Allen pass into a low-post basket, Gudahl swooshed a leaner in traffic, Quiring converted a steal into a putback basket, while Gudahl went end-to-end on another theft to cap the double-digit run at 49-29.

Osborne finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals for New Ulm, while Dennis netted nine points on three treys.

Fairmont (9-7) plays host to Brookings, S.D., at 2:30 p.m. today in the first game of a Coaches vs. Cancer varsity doubleheader at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont. New Ulm (6-10) plays host to Blue Earth Area on Tuesday night.

New Ulm 25-16–41

Fairmont 36-35–71

FAIRMONT (71)

Allen 5-8 0-0 11, Miller 4-7 0-0 8, Becker 2-6 1-5 5, Totzke 4-8 0-0 9, Olson 0-5 1-2 1, Gudahl 6-10 2-3 15, Quiring 6-7 1-2 14, Mosloski 3-5 0-0 6, Schwieger 0-0 0-0 0, Schultz 1-2 0-0 2, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Saxton 0-1 0-1 0. Totals 31-60 5-13 71.

NEW ULM (41)

Nesvold 1-5 0-0 3, Windschill 1-4 1-2 3, Wick 2-3 2-2 6, Osborne 5-10 3-4 13, Dennis 3-9 0-0 9, Dreckman 0-1 0-0 0, Forstner 0-2 0-0 0, Suess 1-4 0-0 2, Bianchi 2-4 0-0 5, Wilker 0-1 0-0 0, Lee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-44 6-8 41.

3-pointers: Fairmont 4-11 (Allen 1, Totzke 1, Gudahl 1, Quiring 1); New Ulm 5-17 (Dennis 3, Nesvold 1, Bianchi 1). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Fairmont 28 (Becker 7, Gudahl 6); New Ulm 28 (Osborne 8). Assists: Fairmont 14 (Olson 6, Allen 3); New Ulm 4. Steals: Fairmont 24 (Olson 6, Gudahl 4, Allen 3, Quiring 3); New Ulm 7 (Osborne 3).

Cassidy Schultz scored 21 points to guide Fairmont to a 32-21 win over New Ulm during B-squad action Friday night in Fairmont.

Carissa Saxton contributed eight points to the Cardinals’ winning ways.

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Boys Basketball

Fairmont 50, New Ulm 48 — Carter Bell connected for the game-winning 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining in regulation to propel the Cardinals to a two-point Big South Conference victory over the Eagles on Friday night in New Ulm.

Bell finished with nine points via three trifectas, while 6-foot-8 teammate Wyatt Frank topped all players by producing a double-double performance of 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Jack Hested sank four 3-pointers to pace his 14-point effort for Fairmont, while Zach Jorgensen chipped in five points and pulled down six rebounds in the win.

The Cardinals made 18 of 44 field goals overall, including 7 of 16 from 3-point range, to go with 7-for-10 free throw shooting.

Isaiah Miller drained five 3-pointers to share team-best scoring honors with Reece Melby at 18 points apiece for New Ulm.

The Eagles made 14 of 38 shots from the floor, including 8 of 18 behind the arc, to go with 13-for-21 shooting at the line.

Fairmont (7-5) plays host to Brookings, S.D., in the second game of a varsity doubleheader at 4:30 p.m. today.

Fairmont 26-24–50

New Ulm 14-35–49

David Maakestad scored 18 points to top Fairmont’s 56-24 victory over New Ulm during B-squad action Friday night.

Gavin Junkermeier contributed 10 points and seven rebounds to the Cardinals’ effort, Tanner Rosch scored seven, while Jacob Crissinger tossed in six.

Owen Burmeister netted 13 points to pace Fairmont’s 45-29 victory over New Ulm during C-squad play Friday night.

Isaiah Lebbi contributed eight points to the Cardinals’ winning ways.