Staff Photo by Daniel Olson: For Three: Fairmont’s Bria Williamson (far right) sets up for a 3 as Martin County West’s Emily Schettler (far left) rushes to defend. Martin County West’s Taylor Hughes and Maddie Carlson watch and defend Emelia Klanderud and Olive Kawecki (L-R)

SHERBURN – In a matchup of teams separated only by a 20-minute drive, the Fairmont Cardinals defeated the Martin County West Mavericks 50-24.

The Cardinals started off hot, with the Mavericks doing everything in their power to keep the game close early on. The gap widened as the first half continued, with several key steals, blocks, and defensive pressures that forced the Mavericks to make mistakes.

That kind of defense is something Cardinals head coach Sara Junkermeier said is something they always strive for.

“That’s what they like doing,” she said. “It helps every aspect of our game when we can play that. It only makes us better, and I think we did a great job of that tonight, just being able to maintain it and do what we need to do. It led to a lot of really easy hooks in the first half.”

At the end of the first half, the Cardinals had pulled out to a commanding lead, 34-11 over the Mavericks. In the second half, Martin County West did its best to stop the bleeding and take advantage of several missed opportunities by the Cardinals. While the first half was lopsided, the second half only yielded 16 points for the Cardinals, and the Mavericks scored 13.

Keeping it close in the second would not be enough to overcome the first-half deficit, however, and the Cardinals secured a 26-point victory.

The win did not come easily. The Cardinals had a fast-paced style on both sides of the ball and, looking to keep their momentum for as long as possible, utilized only a few timeouts throughout the contest.

“I think that’s a lot easier for us to play that way,” Junkermeier said. “That’s what we do. We like to be in shape so we can go do that and then be able to bring players off the bench. It’s a smooth play for us when we can do those things.”

For the Cardinals, Brylee Miller led the charge with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, as well as three steals. Emilia Klanderud poured in eight points of her own. Eighth grader Olive Kawecki also showed up as a plus on the defensive side with three steals of her own and five points.

On the Mavericks’ side, Bailey Larson led the way with eight points and 10 rebounds. Maddie Carlson poured on the defense with eight rebounds and three steals, while Emily Schettler also collected six rebounds.

The Cardinals (11-1) have their next game Friday, Jan. 9, against Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton at 7:30 p.m. in the Fairmont High School Main Gym.

The Mavericks (6-6) have their next game Monday, Jan. 12, against St. James Area at 7 p.m. in the Martin County West High School Gym.