Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont's Bria Williamson aims for an outside shot during the first half of Tuesday night's contest against Windom Area at the Fairmont High School gymnasium. The Cardinals defeated their foe, 78-53, after outscoring the Eagles by 26 points in the second half.

FAIRMONT – A powerful second half performance gave the Fairmont girls basketball team its sixth win of the season, defeating Windom Area 78-53 after out scoring the Eagles by 26 points during the final 18 minutes of play.

“We came out in the second half and played our style of game,” Fairmont head coach Sara Junkermeier said. “I think that really tired them [Winona Area] out when we got a little more aggressive defensively, looked to transition and started knocking down some threes.”

Brylee Miller fueled all Cardinals with 35 points and seven steals. Olive Kawecki generated 14 points off the bench after knocking down four 3-pointers. Bria Williamson chipped in 10 points in another strong scoring effort off Junkermeier’s bench.

It took time for Junkermeier’s team to adjust to Windom Area’s tightly compacted 2-3 zone defensive scheme, using length and athleticism to disrupt any interior chances at the hoop. The Eagles took advantage of four early Fairmont turnovers during the first five minutes of play, as a 3-pointer from Alivia Letcher gave her team an immediate 10-5 lead.

When the Cardinals were able to string together crisp passes between the inside and outside parts of the zone, good things tended to happen, prompting open shots on the perimeter or easy chances down low. 3-pointers from Miller and Williamson gave Fairmont its first lead of the night at 15-14.

“I felt like our passing got better, and that made the zone shift more,” Junkermeier said. “We were able to get the looks to the inside and then kick it right back out to the shooters. There was so much pressure and scrappyness on our interior players that we were just not used too [at first].”

Windom Area responded with a display of their skilled perimeter shooting. Letcher and Brita Tjentland each rattled home shots from the outside, giving their team a 28-27 advantage heading into the halftime horn.

The game changed once the Cardinals began to sink some perimeter shots, opening the door for interior players such as Williamson and Gwyneth Schultz to operate down low. Defensively, Junkermeier said the level of intensity increasing also played well into her team’s favor, utilizing the Cardinals athleticism in transition to generate easy points. With the improved defensive effort, Fairmont pulled ahead to its 25-point win.

Fairmont (6-0) will host Tri-City United on Thursday at the Fairmont High School gymnasium starting at 7:30 p.m.