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Jaguars scratch Cardinals in area basketball clash

STRETCH PLAY — Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther’s Brianna Petrowiak (5) and Fairmont’s Kennedy Becker (far left) stretch out to catch the basketball during nonconference action Monday night in Granada. The Jaguars’ Londyn Bowers (second from left), along with the Cardinals’ Brylee Miller and Ava Terfehr (24), watch the scramble. (Photo by Greg Abel)

GRANADA — The Granada Huntley East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Jaguars defeated the visiting Fairmont Cardinals 71-66 Monday night.

Led by senior forward Olivia Mattson, the Jaguars were able to keep the game close early, before taking advantage of the undermanned Cardinals down the stretch.

Mattson finished the night with a game-high 24 points to go along with her eight boards and three assists. She also provided staunch defense and efficient shooting, finishing 10 of 12 from the field.

Running the show for the Jaguars was senior guard McKenna Benck. Benck took care of the ball and also accumulated 16 points, four assists, four boards and three steals.

McKenna Benck was joined in the backcourt by her sophomore sister Keira Benck, who also helped out on the offensive end with 11 points, including going 2 of 4 from 3-point distance.

Cardinals’ head coach Sara Junkermeier gave all the credit to the Jaguars.

“We rely on being able to get inside and get kick-outs to our shooters,” Junkermeier said. “We just didn’t have those looks tonight and all credit goes to the Jaguars because they did exactly what they needed to do to keep us out of it.”

The Cardinals were led on the night by sophomore guard Brylee Miller.

Miller ended up fouling out in the waning moments of the game, but made an impact before exiting. She finished the night shooting 9 of 14 from the floor with 22 points, six assists and three rebounds.

The Cardinals were forced to rely on some unorthodox starters in the game due to illness.

Senior post player Nevaeh Rahm and junior wing Ellie Ortega missed the game and a couple bench contributors were asked to step up.

Freshman Emelia Klanderud made the most of her extended minutes. She ended with four points off the Cardinals’ bench.

Junior guard Kennedy Becker stepped up nicely for Fairmont. Becker attempted to be the secondary scorer for the Cardinals, finishing 7 of 19 from the field with 18 points, three rebounds and two assists.

The Cardinals had closed the gap to within eight with one minute remaining, but it was too late as a slow second half ended up costing them.

“We struggled, we just are not used to having to go without our inside presence, and I think we really felt that tonight,” Junkermeier said.

With the win, the Jaguars improve their record to 8-4 overall and will take the floor next at 7 p.m. tonight on the road against Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons in Alden.

As for Fairmont, it drops to 9-6 overall and will look to get back in the win column at 7:15 p.m. tonight, on the road against Worthington in a Big South game.

GTML          34 37–71

Fairmont    36 30–66

GHECTML (71)

Mattson 10-12 4-6 24, M. Benck 5-11 3-5 16, K. Benck 3-8 3-4 11, Be. Petrowiak 4-6 0-0 8, Lewis 2-3 2-2 6, Br. Petrowiak 2-8 0-0 4, Bowers 1-5 1-2 3.

FAIRMONT (66)

Miller 9-14 2-4 22, Becker 7-19 1-2 18, Pendergast 4-9 2-2 10, H. Klanderud 2-6 0-0 5, Terfehr 2-7 1-2 5, E. Klanderud 2-2 0-0 4, Anderson 1-1 0-0 2.

Rochester Lourdes 62, Fairmont 39 — Lauren Hust netted a game-best 22 points and teammate Aaliyah Williams hit four 3-pointers en route to scoring 16 more to steer the Eagles to a nonconference triumph over the Cardinals on Saturday at Target Center in Minneapolis.

Nevaeh Rahm tallied 12 points to top Fairmont’s effort, while teammate Brylee Miller collected six points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.

Grace Pendergast generated seven points and teammate Ava Terfehr chipped in six points for the Cardinals, who made 9 of 11 free throws and 14 of 31 field goals on the game.

Rochester Lourdes (10-3) travels to Byron on Thursday night.

Fairmont 51, Rochester Lourdes 30 (Boys) — Levi Pooley poured in a game-leading 20 points to steer the Cardinals to a 21-point non-league win over the Eagles during nonconference action Saturday at Target Center In Minneapolis.

Oliver Tordsen generated a double-double performance of 12 points and 10 rebounds to complement three steals for Fairmont.

Logan Junkermeier contributed seven points and five rebounds to the Cardinals’ winning ways, while teammate Hadan Toomer doled out three assists and pocketed three steals.

Fairmont (4-8) plays host to Worthington at 7:15 p.m. tonight at Cardinal Gym.

Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 80, Blue Earth Area 60 — Memphis James delivered a game-best 21 points to help the Bulldogs best the Bucs by 20 points during nonconference action Monday night in Blue Earth.

Landon Johnson piled up 16 points on 6 for 9 field-goal shooting and a 4 of 4 effort at the free throw line for JWP.

Dalton Bauer finished with 11 points and three assists for the Bulldogs, while teammate Caleb Quast generated a team-high seven rebounds.

William Bromeland scored 19 points, including three 3-pointers, to top Blue Earth Area’s effort, while teammate Taylor Davids contributed 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Davids also cleaned the glass picking up eight total boards.

Max Loge and Gage Barker each contributed 10 points to the Bucs’ cause. Barker also did the bulk of the playmaking by dishing out three assists.

With the win, JWP increases its overall record to 10-4 and will look to add another victory at 7 p.m. tonight against New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva.

As for Blue Earth Area, its record falls to 7-3 overall and hope to change its luck at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Minnesota Valley Lutheran in New Ulm.

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