HIGHER REACH — Fairmont’s Brylee Miller (right) pulls a rebound away from New Ulm’s Daviney Dreckman during Big South Conference basketball action Monday in Fairmont. The Cardinals’ Nevaeh Rahm (35) looks on. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — New Ulm’s girls hoopsters proved that practice makes near perfect.

The Eagles scorched the Cardinal Gym nets on 17 of 19 free throws and hit 9 of 22 3-pointers to fuel an 80-53 Big South Conference basketball triumph over Fairmont on Monday night.

“The girls were in the gym at 7:30 this morning shooting free throws,” said New Ulm mentor Julie Rogers, whose lineup made 7 of 8 charity tosses and 6 of 14 3s on offense and created a plus-14 turnover ratio — 19-5 — from a defensive perspective to build a 51-27 lead by intermission.

Brylee Miller poured in 16 of her team-high 18 points during the final 18 minutes, while she and Nevaeh Rahm combined to grab 18 boards to pace the Cardinals’ 29-15 rebounding edge during the second half to nearly stay even on the scoreboard, 26-29.

“Our personnel fits this screen-and-roll, always cutting type of offense, and everybody has a role,” said Rogers, whose full-court ball-hawking defense garnered 18 steals and doled out 12 assists.

Daviney Dreckman, the Eagles’ lone senior starter, served as the catalyst behind a pair of 8-0 surges during the first half to triple the Cardinals’ deficit at 42-14 with 3 minutes left before the break.

Dreckman, who shared game-best scoring honors with teammate Morgan Hulke with 19 points apiece, followed Fairmont guard Ava Terfehr’s pair of free throws with two of her nine charity tosses on the game.

Dreckman converted a one-and-one situation off one of Mackenzie Enter’s four thefts before Madeline Backer pocketed one of her four steals and went the distance. Ramsey Hopp then threaded one of her five assists to a cutting Dreckman for a runner and 28-point New Ulm lead.

Kennedy Becker and Grace Pendergast combined for 11 of Fairmont’s final 13 points of the initial half to narrow the gap to 51-27. Becker hit a traditional 3-point play and a trifecta while Pendergast nailed a 3 and a pull-up 15-footer before the halftime horn.

Miller and Rahm, who produced a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, proved a 1-2 offensive force by combining for 22 of the Cardinals’ 26 second-half points. Miller finished with a double-double of 18 points and a game-best 18 boards.

Hulke knocked down three of the Eagles’ nine treys, with sophomore sharpshooter Riley Wilson coming off the bench to swoosh two trifectas en route to 14 points.

Enter, Hopp, Betsy Joyce and McKenna Hulke each contributed one 3-pointer to display their perimeter-shooting depth.

Joyce came off the Eagles’ bench to provide seven points and five boards, while Enter contributed seven points and four steals.

Fairmont (8-4) travels to Sherburn on Thursday night to face Martin County West, while New Ulm (11-2) hits the road to Worthington on Friday night.

New Ulm    51-29–80

Fairmont    27-26–53

FAIRMONT (53)

Ortega 1-5 1-2 3, Terfehr 2-3 2-2 6, Rahm 7-12 1-7 15, Pendergast 2-8 0-0 5, Miller 7-21 4-4 18, H. Klanderud 0-5 0-0 0, Becker 2-4 1-1 6, Anderson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-60 9-16 53.

NEW ULM (80)

Enter 3-6 0-0 7, Hopp 2-5 0-0 5, Backer 2-10 2-2 6, Morgan Hulke 6-8 4-5 19, Dreckman 5-10 9-10 19, Wilson 5-7 2-2 14, B. Joyce 3-5 0-0 7, Mckenna Hulke 1-3 0-0 3, Rathmann 0-2 0-0 0, Donnay 0-1 0-0 0, Batt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 17-19 80.

3-pointers: New Ulm 9-22 (Morgan Hulke 3, Wilson 2, Enter, Hopp, B. Joyce and McKenna Hulke 1 each); Fairmont 2-16 (Pendergast and Becker 1 each). Fouled out: Miller. Rebounds: Fairmont 43 (Miller 18, Rahm 10); New Ulm 2 (Dreckman and B. Joyce 5 each). Assists: New Ulm 12 (Hopp 5); Fairmont 8 (Miller 3). Steals: New Ulm 18 (Enter and Backer 4 each); Fairmont 3.

Makenzie Lowry hit a buzzer-beating putback basket to propel Fairmont to a 33-31 victory over New Ulm during B-squad action Monday night.

Makenzie Lowry finished with seven points and seven rebounds, Makayla Lowry generated 12 points and eight boards, while Emelia Klanderud tossed in 10 points.

Bria Williamson netted 14 points to steer Fairmont to a 41-23 win over New Ulm during C-squad action Monday night.

Gwyneth Schultz contributed 10 points to the Cardinals’ victory.

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Martin County West 53, Cleveland 16 — Emily Anderson scored 21 points to trigger the Mavericks’ 37-point Valley Conference stampede over the Clippers on Monday night in Cleveland.

Anderson also grabbed eight rebounds, dished a game-high five assists and pocketed four steals.

Liv Borchardt neared double-double territory by scoring eight points and grabbing nine boards to go with a game-best five blocks for MCW.

Ella Carlson produced six points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, Emily Schettler scored six points, while Avery Sanders pocketed six steals.

Martin County West (9-2) plays host to Fairmont on Thursday night in Sherburn in a non-league game.

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Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 70, Mankato Loyola 35 — Oliva Mattson produced a game-best double-double performance to help the Jaguars double up the Crusaders during a Valley Conference rout on Monday night in Northrop.

Mattson tallied game-highs of 15 points and 11 rebounds to complement doling out four assists for the Jaguars.

Bethany Petrowiak netted 12 points and grabbed six boards for the Jaguars, while Londyn Bowers scored 11 points.

Keira Benck contributed eight points and four assists to the Jaguars’ winning ways, Brianna Petrowiak scored eight points, while McKenna Benck chipped in six points and five steals.

The Jaguars (8-3) play host to St. Clair on Thursday night in Granada.

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Boys Basketball

New Ulm 72, Fairmont 58 — Colton Benson poured in a game-leading 21 points to engineer the Eagles’ 14-point Big South Conference triumph over the Cardinals on Monday night in New Ulm.

Nate Firle tossed in 17 points for New Ulm, while Ayden Jensen contributed 13 points to the winning performance.

Oliver Tordsen scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds to top the Cardinals, while Levi Pooley contributed 11 points.

Trevor Maakestad chipped in eight points, while Logan Junkermeier, Blaze Geiger and Hadan Toomer each contributed six points for Fairmont.

Toomer also pocketed three steals and doled out three assists, Geiger dished out three assists, while Harmon Schrunk pulled down five rebounds for the Cardinals.

Fairmont made 20 of 41 shots from 2-point range, 4 of 16 behind the bonus arc and 6 of 9 at the free throw line.

Fairmont (3-8) faces Rochester Lourdes at 1 p.m. Saturday at Target Center in Minneapolis.

New Ulm downed Fairmont in B-squad action, 75-46, Monday night.

Joe Long netted 13 points to top the Cardinals, Ty Tumbleson tossed in eight points, while Tavian Harvey added seven points.

New Ulm edged Fairmont, 46-42, to win the C-squad game Monday night.

Reed Johnson tallied 11 points for the Cardinals, while Brayden Williamson supplied eight points.

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Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial 90, Blue Earth Area 59 — Jack Brockmann poured in a game-best 25 points to pace a balanced offensive attack in guiding the Knights to a 21-point non-league win over the Bucs on Monday night.

Mason Anderson provided 15 points for LCWM, Jamis Ulman collected 11 points, while Charlie Gengler added 10 points.

Will Bromeland erupted for a team-best 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Bucs.

Jacob Grandgenett scored 11 points and distributed three assists for Blue Earth Area, while teammate Branson Hauskins tossed in 10 points.

Blue Earth Area (7-2) travels to Waseca on Friday night for a Big South Conference game.