AROUND THE DEFENSE — Fairmont’s Brylee Miller (white jersey) drives around New Ulm’s Maggie Joyce (14) during Big South Conference basketball action Tuesday night in New Ulm. (Courtesy of Travis Rosenau/New Ulm Journal)

NEW ULM — Known most her defensive intensity, Maddie Backer had to turn up the heat offensively on Tuesday night to help New Ulm earn a win against a persistent Fairmont squad.

While the defensive effort was still there, Backer added to her game in a way with a career-high 28 points to lead the Eagles to an 85-73 win in a Big South Conference girls basketball game at New Ulm High School.

“It’s important to have two sides to your game,” Backer said. “You can’t just be a defensive player, so I’ve put in work in the offseason, so hopefully this stays on a run.”

Backer added three steals and three rebounds.

Morgan Hulke also had a stellar performance for the No. 7-ranked Eagles, scoring 25 points and pulling down four rebounds.

The Eagles needed Backer and Hulke’s scoring outburst after losing Brooklyn Lewis after a fall in the first half. Lewis received an X-ray Tuesday night that confirmed a broken hand.

“I just think we have to work together,” Hulke said. “Even though Brooklyn’s down, we can still come together as a team. It sucks for us because it’s supposed to be our big year, but we’re just going to have to figure out new things to make us work together and to find the win.”

Daviney Dreckman, who was honored before Tuesday’s game after passing 1,000 career points for New Ulm earlier this season on the road, finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four steals.

Fairmont saw a balanced effort, with four players in double figures.

Brylee Miller led the Cardinals with 23 points — 17 coming in the second half. Ellie Ortega had 18 points for Fairmont, while Ava Terfehr and Grace Pendergast each added 10 points.

With the Eagles opening things up with an 11-1 run, Fairmont took a timeout with 15:14 left in the first half. A Pendergast bucket inside saw the Cardinals pull to within 15-10, but the Eagles quickly pulled away again moments later and extended their lead to 25-11.

The Cardinals answered with a 9-0 run, however, to trail 25-20.

The Eagles stretched their lead to 41-29 late in the half on a Backer 3, but the Cardinals pecked at that lead before the half and trailed 43-38 at halftime.

The Eagles pushed their lead to double digits again, 52-40, after an ‘and-1′ by Dreckman, but the Cardinals refused to quit.

A corner 3 by Miller with less than 10 minutes to play had Fairmont within 58-56. Another Fairmont 3 by Terfehr saw the Cardinals down 60-59.

Hulke answered Terfehr’s bucket with a corner 3 and the Cardinals never got closer than that the rest of the way. Hulke buried another pair of corner 3s later in the half to push New Ulm’s lead to 79-66.

“The corner shots are usually my speciality, I like shooting it,” Hulke said. “When Maddie drives, usually the defenders help and she can kick out to me and it’s super easy. It’s one of the main shots I work on.”

The Eagles took their largest lead of the night, 85-71, on a pair of free throws by Backer.

“We went into this knowing Fairmont’s a good team,” Backer said. “They’re taller than us and they’re a good shooting team. We knew players had to show up, Morgan hit her shots, we just outran them.”

New Ulm (4-1) hosts Hutchinson on Thursday, while Fairmont (3-1) travels to Blue Earth Area on Friday.

New Ulm rolled by Fairmont, 63-31, during B-squad action Tuesday.

Makayla Lowry generated 12 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Cardinals, while teammates Audrina Suckow and Emelia Klanderud supplied eight and seven points, respectively.

Abbie Simpson tossed in 18 points to propel Fairmont to a 38-31 victory over New Ulm during C-squad action Tuesday night.

Gwyneth Schultz added 10 points to the Cardinals’ winning effort.

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Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 67, Springfield 66 — Madisen Lewis hit the game-winning putback basket with 2 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Jaguars to a one-point decision over the Tigers during non-league action Tuesday night in Truman.

Lewis neared double-double territory by scoring 17 points to go with grabbing eight rebounds. She also distributed five assists for the Jaguars.

Keira Benck netted 17 points for the Jaguars, Londyn Bowers collected 10 points and grabbed five boards, Olivia Mattson generated eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while McKenna Benck chipped in seven rebounds and four assists.

Emma Hauger poured in a game-best 27 points to top Springfield.

The Jaguars (4-2) play host to Martin County West on Friday night in Truman.

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St. Clair 59, Martin County West 47 — Steph Cink blistered the St. Clair gymnasium nets on six 3-pointers en route to 18 points to steer the Cyclones to a 12-point Valley Conference victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Brooklin Hinze contributed 12 points and Clare Jeddeloh added 11 points for St. Clair, which connected on 13 of 37 shots from behind the 3-point arc.

Emily Anderson tossed in a game-best 24 points and garnered six rebounds for the Mavericks, while Avery Sanders netted 10 points.

Courtney Anderson supplied six points and five boards for MCW, Liv Borchardt delivered seven rebounds and four assists, while Ella Carlson added eight boards.

Martin County West (5-1) plays Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther on Friday night in Truman.