DRIVING AROUND THE DEFENSE — Fairmont’s Ava Terfehr (left) drives around Jackson County Central defender Rylie Cother (4) during Big South Conference basketball action Monday night in Jackson. (Photo by Greg Abel)

JACKSON — “We always talk about peaks and valleys in the game of basketball,” Fairmont head coach Sara Junkermeier said in reference to her Cardinal girls roster.

Post player Nevaeh Rahm helped Fairmont climb out of a late second-half valley before guard/forward Ava Terfehr’s free-throw prowess allowed the Cardinals to prosper during the final peak Monday night in Jackson.

Terfehr, who scorched the Jackson gymnasium nets on 10 of 12 free throws — including 5 of 6 during the final minute and a half of regulation, netted a team-high 18 points, while teammate Brylee Miller produced another double-double performance to power Fairmont to a 67-58 victory over the Jackson County Central Huskies in a pivotal Big South Conference and Section 3AA clash.

“Jackson (County Central) went on a 12-0 run to close within 48-46 with about seven minutes left in the game, so we (coaching staff) called a timeout to settle the girls down a bit,” said Junkermeier, whose team used a pair of 8-0 first-half surges to build a 30-23 halftime edge. “We managed to keep our composure down the stretch as Nevaeh hit a couple of key baskets to end their double-figure run and rebuild our lead to seven.”

Kylee Wenzel reeled off 10 of her 21 points on the game to trigger the Huskies’ comeback before Rahm crashed the offensive glass for a putback basket to prevent JCC from capturing the lead with 5 1/2 minutes to go in regulation.

Miller, who produced 17 points to go with a game-best 18 rebounds, fired one of her four assists to Rahm for a cutter before teammate Grace Pendergast hit a solo free throw for a 53-46 margin.

Rylie Cother, who topped all scorers with 27 points en route to a near rare triple-double effort, served as the Huskies’ late catalyst to eventually pull within 58-54 before Terfehr stepped to the free throw line.

“Ava and Ellie (Ortega) combined for 7 of 8 free throws during the final minute and a half to help close the game with a 9-4 run,” said Junkermeier.

Terfehr hit two charity tosses before Wenzel countered for JCC with a runner in the lane. Rahm banked home a low-post basket before Terfehr made 3 of her next 4 free throws for a 65-56 lead with 18 seconds remaining.

Madelyn Rowe made a low-post leaner for the Huskies before Ortega knocked down two more free throws to seal the Cardinals’ nine-point victory.

“Hopefully tonight’s win against a top sectional opponent like JCC will help us earn one of the top two seeds for the upcoming playoffs,” said Junkermeier.

Rahm finished with 15 points for Fairmont, Ortega tossed in six points, while Terfehr added eight rebounds and three assists to go with her 18-point outing.

Cother neared triple-double range by grabbing 11 rebounds and pocketing a game-best eight steals to go with her 27 points for JCC, while Wenzel earned a double-double with 21 points and a team-high 12 boards.

Fairmont (14-9) is idle until playing host to St. James in a league clash on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at Cardinal Gym.

Jackson County Central (13-6) travels to Class 3A No. 6-ranked Marshall on Friday for another conference contest.

Fairmont            30-37–67

Jackson CC        23-35–58

FAIRMONT (67)

Terfehr 3-7 10-12 18, Ortega 2-4 2-4 6, Rahm 7-0 1-3 15, Pendergast 2-10 3-4 8, Miller 7-19 1-4 17, H. Klanderud 1-4 0-0 3, Becker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 17-27 67.

JCC (58)

Cother 12-36 3-6 27, Rowe 2-5 1-1 5, Anderson 0-5 2-2 2, Wenzel 9-14 3-5 21, Sether 1-3 1-2 3, Coquyt 0-5 0-1 0, Haren 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-69 10-17 58.

3-pointers: Fairmont 6-24 (Terfehr and Miller 2 each; H. Klanderud and Pendergast 1 each); JCC 0-9. Fouled out: Cother. Rebounds: Fairmont 46 (Miller 18, Terfehr 8); JCC 34 (Wenzel 12, Cother 11). Assists: Fairmont 11 (Miller 4, Terfehr and Pendergast 3 each); JCC 4. Steals: JCC 11 (Cother 8); Fairmont 8 (Miller 3).

Jackson County Central topped Fairmont in B-squad action, 46-41, Monday night in Jackson.

Makayla Lowry produced 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to top the Cardinals, Makenzie Lowry tallied eight points and eight rebounds, while Emelia Klanderud contributed 11 points and six boards.

JCC edged Fairmont, 47-42, during C-squad action Monday night in Jackson.

Abbie Simpson scored 16 points to top the Cardinals, while Gwyneth Schultz contributed 12 points.

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Martin County West 70, Madelia 38 — Emily Anderson erupted for a career-best 37 points to nearly match the Blackhawks team during the Mavericks’ 32-point Valley Conference rout on Monday night in Madelia.

Anderson grabbed a game-leading 10 rebounds to complete her double-double performance to complement distributing six assists and pocketing four steals in MCW’s lopsided win.

Maddie Carlson contributed 10 points and four assists to the Mavericks’ winning effort, Ella Carlson notched nine points and seven rebounds, while Emily Schettler tossed in eight points.

The Mavericks made 27 of 59 shots from 2-point range, 2 of 8 behind the 3-point arc and 10 of 17 at the free throw line.

Katherine DeVlaeminck poured in a team-best 24 points for Madelia.

Martin County West (15-4) plays host to Cleveland on Thursday night in Sherburn.

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Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 77, Nicollet 62 — Madisen Lewis neared double-double territory in topping a balanced performance as the Jaguars scratched the Raiders by 15 during Valley Conference action Monday night in Nicollet.

Lewis netted 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds, while Olivia Mattson tallied 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and doled out five assists.

Keira Benck generated 13 points, pulled down seven boards and pocketed seven steals for the Jaguars, teammate Bethany Petrowiak contributed 13 points and six steals, while McKenna Benck collected a double-double effort of 12 points and a game-best 12 boards.

The Jaguars (16-4) travel to Mankato Loyola on Thursday night for another league game.