OVER THE DEFENSE ­— Fairmont post player Nevaeh Rahm (white jersey) shoots a putback jumper over Blue Earth Area defenders Taylor Klabunde (24) and Ashlyn Klinkner (22) during Big South Conference basketball action Friday night in Blue Earth. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Mertens/Faribault County Register).

BLUE EARTH — The Fairmont Cardinals girls basketball team waltzed out of the Blue Earth gymnasium with an 87-50 Big South Conference victory over the Bucs on Friday night.

Spearheaded by monster games from sophomore guard Brylee Miller and senior post player Nevaeh Rahm, the Cardinals had a firm grasp on the game by the halftime whistle.

Miller sparked the game’s initial action with two quick layups, an assist and a rebound in the opening minutes.

Miller would finish the game with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals for the Cardinals. Her ball security and vision allowed for the Fairmont offense to run freely, the way it was drawn up.

“Tonight we even asked her (Miller) to play inside a little bit more, you know she is used to being outside but we were missing one of our post players today,” Cardinals’ head coach Sara Junkermeier said. “You know she just naturally finds the seams, the gaps. She’s been around the game for so long that she just knows where she needs to be and she puts herself and her teammates in a position to be successful.”

Her accomplices on the night were seniors Nevaeh Rahm and Grace Pendergast.

Rahm probed the middle, creating space for herself in the post and efficiently converting around the basket.

Rahm compiled 18 points on the night on efficient 9 for 11 field-goal shooting for the Cardinals to go with her 11 rebounds and four assists.

“We ran our transition very well, and she (Rahm) filled exactly where she needed to be,” Junkermeier said. “We could make our pass up the floor early and then she was where she needed to be which resulted in layups and that’s something she thrives on.”

As for Pendergast, she came away with a game-high 22 points on 8 for 13 shooting from the field and 2 for 3 shooting from deep. She would add three rebounds, four assists and a couple steals to her scoring output to round out her game.

On the opposing side, the Bucs possessed a duo of their own.

The Bucs’ backcourt pairing of sophomore guard Lola Lundquist and senior guard Katherine Armon put up a combined 41 points.

Starting with the team’s leader, Armon finished the night with 21 points on 9 for 15 shooting from the field and 2 for 3 shooting from behind the arc. She added seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in the losing effort.

Armon had difficulty getting into the paint as she may be accustomed to as the Cardinals on the ball pressure and collapsing defensive strategy proved successful.

Lundquist did her best to support Armon by adding 20 points of her own for the Bucs. Lundquist tacked on a couple assists and three rebounds to cap off her night.

The Bucs now sit at 1-5 overall, with their next game coming at 6 p.m. Tuesday at home against Windom Area.

As for the Cardinals, they are now 4-1 overall and will look to make it five wins at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday night at Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial.

Fairmont     51 36 — 87

B.E. Area     26 24 — 50

FAIRMONT (87)

Miller 7-12 4-4 20, Rahm 9-11 0-0 18, Pendergast 8-13 4-4 22, Becker 4-7 0-0 9, Terfehr 3-8 0-0 6, E. Klanderud 2-4 2-4 6, Anderson 1-2 0-3 2, Reyes 1-3 0-0 2, Traetow 0-1 0-0 0, H. Klanderud 1-3 0-1 2.

B.E. AREA (50)

Armon 9-15 1-2 21, Lundquist 7-18 3-7 20, Gaydon 1-2 0-0 3, Klabunde 2-5 0-0 4, Klinkner 0-2 0-0 0, Schavey 0-4 0-0 0, Moore 0-0 2-5 2.

Makayla Lowry approached accomplishing a rare quadruple-double by pouring in 22 points, grabbing nine rebounds, distributing nine assists and pocketing 10 steals to power Fairmont to a 46-16 rout over Blue Earth Area during B-squad action Friday night in Blue Earth Area.

Emelia Klanderud contributed six points and eight rebounds to the Cardinals’ winning performance, while Makenzie Lowry tossed in six points.

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Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 39, Martin County West 28 — McKenna Benck erupted for a game-best 15 points to engineer the Jaguars’ 11-point victory over the Mavericks during Valley Conference action Friday night in Truman.

Olivia Mattson supplied seven rebounds, seven steals, three assists and four points to the Jaguars’ winning ways, while teammate Brianna Petrowiak generated eight points, grabbed six boards and pocketed four steals.

Bethany Petrowiak added four steals and four rebounds to the Jaguars’ winning effort.

Liv Borchardt neared double-double territory by producing nine points and 11 rebounds to complement doling out three assists and blocking five shots for the Mavericks.

Emily Anderson pulled down nine boards, blocked five opponents’ shots, dished out three assists and scored four points for Martin County West.

The Mavericks connected on 9 of 35 shots from 2-point range and 10 of 18 at the free throw line.

Martin County West (5-2) travels to Alden on Monday night to face Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons, while Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther (5-2) plays host to Madelia on Monday night in Truman.