FAIRMONT – Megan Fuhrman brings an intangible element to the Fairmont girls basketball team’s turnover-creating, full-court press.
Shannon Christianson produced 12 of her game-best 13 points to help trigger the Cardinals’ 14-0 second-half opening surge, orchestrated by the backcourt ball-hawking skills of Fuhrman and freshman guard Sierra Schultz on Thursday night in Fairmont.
Justine Gerdts delivered nine points and six rebounds, Kayla Lardy supplied eight points and a game-high nine boards, while Schultz distributed a game-leading six assists to complement six points in guiding Fairmont to a 52-45 South Central Conference triumph over the Waseca Bluejays at Cardinal Gym.
“Justine did a nice job of attacking the basket for us during the start of the second half,” Cardinal mentor Don Waletich said in reference to his senior starting small forward’s clutch four consecutive free throws on the heels of intermission. “Megan Fuhrman’s intensity really got our run-and-jump defense going, too, and everyone else seemed to feed off of it.
“I also thought our girls did a nice job of defending (Waseca center Katie) Miller in the post. that was key.”
After the SCC rivals battled to four ties during a back-and-forth first half, the Bluejays transformed a three-point deficit into a one-point halftime edge. Miller scored the final two of her five first-half points on a baseline leaner at the 39-second juncture before freshman post Kirstin Simmons hit a leaner in the lane just before the buzzer.
Waletich’s halftime speech spurred the Cardinals to a pivotal 14-0 surge out of the lockerroom, triggered by the red-and-white’s swarming full-court pressure.
Christianson hit a leaner in the low post off a Schultz entry pass before Schultz fed the basketball to Christianson on the heels of a Waseca turnover for a quick 26-23 edge.
Christianson garnered a steal, flipped the theft to Schultz, who spotted Fuhrman for the lay-in to cause the Bluejays to call timeout at the 16:42 mark.
The short recess did not help Waseca’s cause as Gerdts drove the paint to earn two free throws, Schultz zipped an entry pass to Christianson for a long-step left-handed lay-in before Gerdts sank two more charity tosses. Gerdts’ end-to-end drive against the Bluejays’ press widened Fairmont’s margin to 36-23 and caused another Waseca timeout at the 14:19 juncture.
Forward Lindsey Malecha then reeled off eight unanswered points to trigger Waseca’s countering 10-0 run to help inch the visitors within three on the scoreboard.
Christianson, however, ended the Cardinals’ scoreless run with a free throw and a putback basket with eight minutes to go.
Jordyn Hedberg’s drive through traffic and Miller’s step-back 12-footer from the left wing later inched the Bluejays to 41-40 with 5:14 remaining in the second half.
Christianson, however, converted Emily Kim’s entry pass into a traditional 3-point play to trigger an 8-0 knockout run.
Kamara Cone converted Schultz’s assist into a low-post leaner, Fuhrman sank a solo free throw after a steal before Cone returned the favor to Schultz on a drive in traffic.
Schultz’s two free throws with 14.2 seconds left in regulation iced the Cardinals’ seven-point winning margin.
Malecha topped the Bluejays with 12 points, while Miller finished with eight points, seven rebounds, a game-best five steals and three assists.
Fairmont (7-5, 3-2 SCC) plays host to North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted at 4 p.m. Saturday at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont.
Waseca (5-7, 3-3) hits the road to Class 2A, no. 3-ranked new Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva on Tuesday.
Madison Geerdes produced 25 points, six rebounds and three assists to steer Fairmont to a 53-49 victory over Waseca during B-squad action Thursday in Fairmont.
Emily Kim contributed seven points and five rebounds to the Cardinals’ triumph, Courtney Guetter pocketed six steals, Pauli Anderson chipped in four steals, while Ashten Atzenhoefer doled out three assists for Fairmont (9-1).
Blue Earth Area 53, new Ulm 31 – Camille Driscoll scored 19 points to lead the Bucs to a 53-31 South Central Conference win over the Eagles on Thursday in new Ulm.
Krista Hassing collected nine points for Blue Earth Area, teammate Sara Warmka contributed seven points and Courtney Grandgenett delivered six more points.
Kelsy Kannegiesser scored 14 points to lead the Eagles.
Blue Earth Area (11-1, 4-1 South Central) plays at 4:15 p.m. Saturday in Hayfield.
Martin County West 46, Granada-Huntley-East Chain 24 – Freshman guard Taryn Tumbleson and sophomore forward Kate Thiesse each scored 10 points to lead the Mavericks to a 46-24 Valley Conference victory over the Mustangs on Thursday night at East Chain School.
Morgan Williamson and Bailey Tish each generated nine points for the Mavericks.
Anna Balcom led the Mustangs with five points, while teammate Amanda Cegelske grabbed five rebounds.
The Mavericks connected on 17 of 39 attempts from the floor and 10 of 17 from the free throw line. the Mustangs made 10 of 34 field goals on the game, while making 2 of 4 at the charity stripe.
The Mavericks held a 30-20 rebounding edge.
Martin County West (8-3, 5-1 Valley) plays host to Luverne on Saturday in Sherburn. Granada-Huntley-East Chain (4-7, 3-3 Valley) travels to Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s on Saturday.
Martin Luther 60, Cleveland 38 – Freshman guard Kayley Shoen scored a game-leading 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and snared four steals as the Knights chalked up a 60-38 Valley Conference triumph over the Clippers on Thursday night in Cleveland.
Point guard Effie Bentz produced 14 points, distributed four assists and garnered four steals for Martin Luther, while teammate Amber Schulz scored 11 points and added three steals.
The Knights were 18 of 47 from the floor, including 4 of 16 on 3-pointers, while going 10 of 19 on free throws.
Taylor Holicky led the Clippers with 12 points.
Martin Luther (3-9, 2-5 Valley) hosts Truman on Tuesday in Northrop.
Manson-Northwest Webster 63, North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted 35 – the Cougars scored a 63-35 nonconference win over the Eagles on Thursday night in Manson, Iowa.
Kelsey Gerhart led the Eagles by generating 13 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Collete Haag scored eight points. Tori Johnson added two assists and two blocks to the Eagle totals.
North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted (9-3, 6-0 Corn Belt) plays at 4 p.m. Saturday in Fairmont.
NSK/AR 2 11 12 10 – 35
Fairmont 63, Waseca 59 – Sophomore guard Mitch Pfingsten erupted for a career-high 35 points to lead the Cardinals to a 63-59 South Central Conference comeback triumph over the Bluejays on Thursday night in Waseca.
Pfingsten scored 27 points in the second half. the sharpshooting sophomore connected on 5 of 9 3-pointers, 5 of 9 from 2-point distance and 10 of 12 at the free throw line to help the Cardinals erase a 10-point halftime deficit.
Kevin Hanson neared double-double territory by producing 10 points and nine rebounds, while Michael Forster pulled down nine rebounds and doled out four assists for the Cardinals.
Brock Kolander led the Bluejays with 16 points.
Fairmont (9-2, 4-0 South Central) hosts North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday.
The Fairmont B-squad was a 50-44 winner over Waseca on Thursday.
Nick Roggow scored 16 points, while Josh Eversman added 10 points and five assists. Tadd Abel scored seven points. Fairmont (9-1) travels to Jackson County Central on Saturday.
Waseca scored a 61-34 win over the Cardinal C-squad.
Ben Abel scored 14 points and added six rebounds for the Cardinals, while Derek Hunwardsen had seven points and three steals. Dustin Slaughter tallied six points.
Fairmont (2-5) plays at 4:45 p.m. today in St. Clair.
Blue Earth Area 56, new Ulm 48 – Dallas Barslou scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Bucs to a 56-48 South Central Conference win over the Eagles on Thursday in Blue Earth.
Luke Monson and Sam Lee each scored five points for Blue Earth Area.
Tyler Dittrich scored 15 points for the Eagles.
The Bucs were 12 of 16 on free throws, while the Eagles were 10 of 14.
Blue Earth Area (4-6, 2-2 South Central) plays at 6 p.m. Saturday in Hayfield.
Manson-Northwest Webster 58, North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted 31 – Brody Eischeid scored 24 points to lead the Cougars to a 58-31 nonconference win over the Eagles on Thursday in Manson, Iowa.
Travis Larson scored 13 points for the Eagles, while Aric Runge added eight points.
North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted (5-7, 5-1 Corn Belt) plays at approximately 6 p.m. Saturday in Fairmont.
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