Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Gwyneth Schultz (3) and the rest of Fairmont's defense look to continue their strong performance during the second half of Tuesday's contest against Luverne at the Fairmont High School gymnasium. The Cardinals held their opponent to 26 points on the night, cruising to the team's 13th win of the winter campaign.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont girls basketball team used a strong defensive effort to blow past Luverne during Tuesday night’s contest at the Fairmont High School gymnasium. Fairmont knocked off its opponent 63-26, scoring 36 points in the second half to earn their 13th win of the season.

Brylee Miller led all scorers with 25 points, picking up eight rebounds and four steals to cap off an impressive night. Bria Williamson gave Fairmont head coach Sara Junkermeier a spark off the bench with 13 points on five made field goals.

“I think our defensive intensity set the tone,” Junkermeier said.

Fairmont forced over 20 turnovers in the first half after using its full-court pressure and on-ball defense in the half-court to cause chaos for Luverne guards all night.

A string of free throws from Gwyneth Schultz, Williamson and Miller gave the Fairmont Cardinals an early 20-11 lead with under eight minutes to play in the first half. Mackenzie Lowry and Williamson took advantage of a pair of Luverne turnovers to push the advantage further to 24-13.

Fairmont finished the half with a Miller breakaway layup and a free throw from Makayla Lowry that gave Junkermeier’s team a 27-16 lead as the halftime buzzer rang.

“That’s something we talk about,” Junkermeier said on her team’s defensive intensity. “Man, they just put the clamps on. To get the number of five-second calls we got in the first half, and the number of times they stepped out of bounds. …just things that make or break a team, and those are the things we are doing well right now.”

Fairmont continued to dominate defensively in the second half, this time converting on looks in transition to balloon the advantage even further. Olive Kawecki and Miller each converted on coast-to-coast layups after picking up steals, taking Fairmont’s advantage to 44-20 with under 11 minutes to play.

Junkermeier’s team finished the remaining half with a 19-6 scoring run to defeat Luverne 63-26. Fairmont (13-1) will host Redwood Valley this Friday at the Fairmont High School gymnasium starting at 7:30 p.m.