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Cardinals edge Huskies in OT for 8th straight win

TIED UP — Fairmont post player Cadee Becker (second from left) and forward Rayah Quiring (5) force a jump-ball situation with Jackson County Central’s Kylee Wenzel during Big South Conference basketball action Tuesday night at Cardinal Gym. Fairmont’s Kate Busche (back) assists on the play. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Facing high-octane opponent Jackson County Central with the Fairmont girls basketball program’s all-time 3-point leader Maggy Totzke out with influenza, Cardinal head coach Sara Junkermeier breathed a sigh of relief and smiled broadly after exiting Cardinal Gym with a hard-fought 74-70 overtime victory over the Huskies.

“Maggy always does our end-of-the-game ritual in the lockerroom, so we had to call her at home and do it by cell phone tonight,” said Junkermeier. “Talk about overcoming adversity — that’s what we accomplished in a huge win over a top section (3AA) opponent in Jackson.

“We had great balance throughout the lineup tonight, with everyone contributing.”

After JCC’s Sadie Voss hit a leaning runner with less than a second remaining in regulation to knot the game at 68-all and force an extra 4-minute session, Fairmont’s Cadee Becker’s hustle and determination and Brittney Mosloski’s low-post presence guided the Cardinals to their eighth consecutive victory.

“Cadee battled to grab a couple of offensive rebounds to help us maintain possession during the overtime and allowed us to never trail,” Junkermeier said in reference to Becker, who produced a team-best double-double performance of 22 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Becker sank two free throws for the first points of overtime before Voss converted a one-and-one situation for two of her game-leading 29 points to create the game’s 10th and final tie at 70 with 57 seconds to go.

Mosloski then banked home the go-ahead basket off one of Rayah Quiring’s team-best six assists on an inbound play with 32 seconds remaining. Mosloski and Emma Gudahl each hit solo free throws during the final 22 seconds to close out the win.

“We knew Jackson can score a lot of points in a hurry,” Junkermeier said in reference to the Huskies averaging 90 points during their previous four games en route to a five-game winning streak. “They’ve got two of the top scorers in the state in Voss (third at 28.6 points per game) and (Maci) Farmer (13th at 23.6 ppg), and while they scored 29 and 22, respectively, I thought we played them pretty well.”

Farmer poured in 12 of her 22 points and Voss produced 10 points, five assists and four steals to help JCC keep within four at halftime — 34-30 — after the Huskies missed their first 10 field goals of the contest.

Becker, who made two free throws with 2 seconds left before intermission, netted 11 points and nine rebounds during the first half.

Georgianna Wenzel converted the last of Voss’ game-leading 11 assists into a 15-foot right-elbow jumper to swing a 66-65 lead to JCC, but Gudahl answered with a pair of clutch free throws with 43 seconds remaining. Kate Busche then made 1 of 2 free throws with 12 seconds to go before Voss hit the tying runner.

Gudahl contributed 14 points and five steals to the Cardinals’ winning performance, while Quiring supplied 12 points to complement her six assists. Mosloski neared a double-double with 11 points and nine boards, Grace Pendergast collected eight points and doled out three assists, while Cassidy Schultz added six points and seven rebounds.

Voss produced a double-double of 29 points and 11 assists to complement a game-high seven steals, while Farmer pulled down a Husky-best eight boards to go with her 22-point outing. Rylie Cother added eight points and four steals for JCC.

Becker’s 14-board performance paced Fairmont’s 41-35 edge on the glass.

Fairmont (10-1) travels to St. Peter on Thursday night for another conference game, while Jackson County Central (8-3) crosses the state border to face Estherville-Lincoln Central on Monday night.

Brylee Miller scored 12 points and Nevaeh Rahm contributed 10 points to Fairmont’s 50-23 victory over JCC during B-squad action Tuesday night.

Ellie Ortega contributed eight rebounds to the Cardinals’ win, Hope Klanderud grabbed six boards and Grace Pendergast scored six points in the opening half.

Kennedy Becker collected eight points, four rebounds and three steals to steer Fairmont to a 24-22 win over JCC during C-squad action Tuesday night.

Carys Gudahl and Norah Traetow each netted six points for the Cardinals, while Meredith Nemmers pulled down five rebounds.

North Union 61, Eagle Lake 16 — Sam Nielsen generated a double-double performance and teammate Lily Henderson drained four 3-pointers to propel the Warriors to a rout over the Eagles during Top of Iowa Conference action Tuesday night in Armstrong.

Nielsen collected 16 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, while Henderson topped all scorers with 20 points to complement four assists and four steals.

Olivia Von Bank contributed eight points and six steals to North Union’s victory, while Naomi Jones distributed three assists.

The Warriors made 21 of 43 shots from 2-point range, 5 of 17 behind the 3-point arc and 4 of 11 at the free throw line.

North Union (7-2) travels to Garner-Hayfield/Ventura on Friday night.

Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop 46, Martin County West 27 — Brynn Busse poured in a game-best 22 points to engineer the Thunderbirds’ 19-point non-league triumph over the Mavericks on Tuesday night in Winthrop.

Emily Anderson, Thea Anderson and Ella Carlson each tallied six points to top the Mavericks, while Liv Borchardt chipped in four points.

The Mavericks made 9 of 43 field goals overall and 6 of 11 at the free throw line.

Martin County West (2-6) plays host to Worthington on Thursday night in Sherburn.

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