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Fairmont girls hoopsters earn 11th win

ALL MINE — Fairmont’s Cassidy Schultz grabs the rebound away from Redwood Valley’s Hannah Schjenken (5) during Big South Conference basketball action Friday night at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont. Fairmont’s Bryn Miller (14) and Maggy Totzke (1), along with Redwood Valley’s Sydney Sommers, watch the action. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Twenty assists in conjunction with 15 steals are two numbers that bring a smile to Fairmont head girls basketball coach Sara Junkermeier’s face.

Bryn Miller and Cadee Becker each scored 11 points, Madysen Allen netted 10 points, Brittney Mosloski spearheaded the hometown reserves’ combined 18-point contribution and Faith Olson doled out six assists to power Fairmont to a 56-51 Big South Conference cross-over triumph over Redwood Valley on Friday night.

“This group of players just loves to scramble. The more they press and trap all over the floor, the more relaxed they seem to play,” said Junkermeier. “I thought everyone play unselfishly and rotated the basketball until we found the open shooter tonight.”

After being tied at 9 and 11 in the early stages, Aubree Hicks’ drive in traffic and pull-up 10 footer eventually swung a 17-12 lead to Redwood Valley with 7 minutes remaining before halftime, but Fairmont countered.

Rayah Quiring spotted Olson for a running banker in the paint to trigger Fairmont’s ensuing 8-0 run to recapture the upperhand on the scoreboard. Olson spotted Miller for a low-post turnaround before threading a pass to Cassidy Schultz for two of her five points off Fairmont’s skilled bench.

Following Redwood Valley head coach Taya Lindahl’s timeout at the 4:44 juncture, Mosloski utilized a drop-step cross-over move in the post to give Fairmont a 20-17 advantage.

Power forward Sydney Sommers and 6-foot center Haley Garman — who co-led all scorers with 14 points apiece — pounded the low post to keep Redwood Valley within striking distance before AJ Guggisberg snapped the nets on a right-corner 3 off one of Sommers’ three assists to knot the game at 24-all.

Becker, however, worked a smooth inside-outside play with Maggy Totzke to send Fairmont into the lockerroom at the break ahead 26-24. Becker powered home a low-post leaner for two of her 11 points.

Once again, Redwood Valley rallied in the second half to eventually tie the score at 32 via Payden Beran’s cutter through traffic before Mosloski’s solo free throw and Allen’s layup off an Olson steal-turned-assist triggered Fairmont’s ensuing 13-2 surge.

“If we’re playing good pressure backcourt defense, it obviously gives us better chances to score,” said Junkermeier.

Despite Hicks’ runner in the lane, Fairmont reeled off 10 more unanswered points to create a 45-34 lead before fending off hard-working Redwood Valley in the final 1:23 of regulation.

Totzke drilled her only 3 of the game off a Mosloski kickout pass before Becker tossed in three free throws to bookend Rayah Quiring’s 15-footer off an Emma Gudahl assist. Quiring later fed Miller for a turnaround low-post basket before Sommers and Garman combined for 13 of Redwood Valley’s final 17 points.

Becker added five rebounds and three steals to her 11-point outing for Fairmont, Mosloski supplied seven points, Schultz chipped in five points, while Olson added three steals to her six assists.

Garman finished with a game-best double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds for Redwood Valley, while Sommers pocketed four steals and doled out three helpers to complement her 14-point effort. Hicks finished with 10 points.

Fairmont (11-5) plays host to New Ulm at 6:15 p.m. tonight in its regular-season finale at Cardinal Gym before tipping off the playoffs. The No. 3-seeded Cardinals play host to No. 6-seeded New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva in a 7 p.m. Section 2AA, South Sub-Section quarterfinal on Wednesday night in Fairmont.

Redwood Valley (9-8) plays host to Jackson County Central in a 7 p.m. Section 3AA, South Sub-Section quarterfinal on Tuesday night in Redwood Falls.

Red. Valley 24-27–51

Fairmont 26-30–56

FAIRMONT (56)

Miller 5-8 1-2 11, Quiring 1-2 0-0 2, Becker 4-5 3-4 11, Allen 4-5 1-2 10, Olson 2-6 0-0 4, Mosloski 3-8 1-2 7, Totzke 1-4 0-0 3, Schultz 2-2 1-2 5, Schwieger 0-2 1-2 1, Gudahl 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 23-43 8-15 56.

RED. VALLEY (51)

Schjenken 1-6 0-1 2, Sommers 6-14 1-2 14, Garman 6-10 2-4 14, Guggisberg 2-5 0-0 6, Hicks 5-8 0-0 10, Beran 1-1 1-2 3, Ahrens 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 22-45 4-9 51.

3-pointers: Redwood Valley 3-10 (Guggisberg 2-4, Sommers 1-3, Schjenken 0-2, Hicks 0-1); Fairmont 2-11 (Allen 1-2, Totzke 1-4, Olson 0-3, Schwieger 0-2). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Fairmont 23 (Becker and Gudahl 5 each); Redwood Valley 21 (Garman 10). Assists: Fairmont 20 (Olson 6, Totzke 4); Redwood Valley 9 (Sommers 4). Steals: Fairmont 15 (Becker, Quiring and Olson 3 each); Redwood Valley 8 (Sommers 4).

Jazlyn Geerdes netted 10 points to top a balanced scoring attack as Fairmont flattened Redwood Valley in B-squad action, 38-18, Friday night in Fairmont.

Claire Nemmers and Kate Busche each contributed seven points to Fairmont’s winning effort, while Abby Cihoski chipped in six points.

Grace Pendergast collected 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to power Fairmont to a 57-26 rout over Redwood Valley during C-squad action Friday night.

Nevaeh Rahm delivered 15 points and six boards for Fairmont, which finished the season with a perfect 10-0 record.

Ava Terfehr tallied 10 points for Fairmont, while teammate Hope Klanderud chipped in seven points.

Boys Basketball

Martin County West 64, Jackson County Central 54 — Zach Anderson and Tanner Sinn each collected double-doubles to pace the Mavericks’ 10-point nonconference triumph over the Huskies on Friday night in Jackson.

Anderson scored a game-best 20 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to complement three steals, while Sinn scored 15 points to go with a game-high 13 boards.

Mitch Weber netted 11 points, doled out three assists and pocketed four steals for MCW, while teammates Owen Runkle and Cash Owens each chipped in eight points.

The Mavericks made 15 of 32 shots from 2-point range, 4 of 13 behind the 3-point arc and blistered the nets on 22 of 31 free throws.

Sinn and Anderson also paced the Mavericks’ 36-23 edge on the boards.

Martin County West (10-8) plays host to Nicollet at 7 p.m. Thursday night in a Section 2A, South Sub-Section quarterfinal in Sherburn.

Luverne 73, Blue Earth Area 70 — Cameron Anderson became Blue Earth Area’s all-time career scoring leader, but the Bucs lost a three-point nail-biter to the Cardinals during a Big South Conference cross-over Friday night in Luverne.

Anderson poured in a game-best 26 points to etch his name into the program’s No. 1 point-producing category at 1,231 — three more than former Buc standout Fran Bekaert, who ended his outstanding prep playing days with 1,228.

Anderson also distributed five assists and pocketed four steals Friday night, while teammate Austin Thielfoldt produced a rare double-double performance of 12 points and a game-best 11 assists.

Braden Gudahl supplied nine points and four assists for BEA, Gavin Storbeck netted eight points, Ashton Lloyd contributed seven points and seven boards, while Sam Keister added six points and grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds.

The Bucs made 29 of 56 field goals, including 9 of 20 behind the 3-point arc, and 3 of 3 free throws on the game.

Jayson Rops tallied a team-best 22 points for Luverne, which hit 23 of 47 shots from the field, including 9 of 17 from 3-point distance, and scorched the nets on 18 of 22 free throws.

Bailey Cowell made 5 of 7 free throws and went 4 of 6 from 3-point range to rack up 21 points for Luverne, while Gannon Ahrendt went 6 of 6 at the charity stripe to help pace a 19-point performance.

Blue Earth Area (13-4) plays host to Medford in a 7 p.m. Section 2AA, South Sub-Section quarterfinal in Blue Earth on Thursday night.

Luverne (14-3), who received a quarterfinal bye via a No. 1 seed, awaits the winner between Windom Area and Tracy-Milroy-Balaton for a 7 p.m. Section 3AA, South Sub-Section semifinal on Saturday, March 20.

Redwood Valley 82, Fairmont 60 — Carson Woodford erupted for a game-high 24 points and teammate Charles LaChapelle chipped in 22 more to pace a 22-point Big South Conference cross-over victory on Friday night in Redwood Falls.

Freshman guard Levi Pooley scored 16 points to pace Fairmont, while Zach Jorgensen neared double-double territory by scoring 11 points and pulling down nine rebounds to complement doling out five assists.

Sawyer Tordsen scored 11 points for Fairmont, Tanner Rosch supplied eight points and five boards, Jacob Crissinger notched six points and dished out three assists, while Gavin Junkermeier added six points.

Fairmont made 23 of 53 field goals, including 8 of 23 behind the arc, to go with 6-for-8 free-throw shooting.

Fairmont (6-10), the No. 3 seed in the Section 3AA, South Sub-Section playoffs, opens the postseason by playing host to No. 6-seeded Jackson County Central at 7 p.m. Thursday night at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont.

Armando Hernandez scored 14 points and Gavin Rodning added a dozen points to steer Fairmont to a 49-41 win over Redwood Valley during B-squad action Friday night in Redwood Falls.

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