ABOVE: Fairmont's Brylee Miller swings the ball out to a waiting Emelia Klanderud as Fairmont sets up their offense in a Big South Conference girls basketball game against Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Tuesday night in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT – The defense of the Fairmont Cardinals (2-0) came up big during their Big South Conference girls basketball game against the Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Knights (0-2) on Tuesday night, leading to a 64-39 victory.

Shutting down passing lanes and forcing the Knights outside the arc was a key part of that defense for the Cardinals.

“We were way better in the passing lane, which threw them off when it came to making the pass to their shooter,” said Fairmont head coach Sara Junkermeier. “We were able to get a deflection or a hand on a ball and it ended up in a fast break situation for us taking them out of their offense.”

Leading the Cardinals was Brylee Miller with 21 points, eight rebounds, and four steals, and Makayla Lowry put up 16 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Ellie Ortega scored 10 points, and five rebounds, while Gwyneth Schultz had six points and six rebounds.

The Knights came out shooting to start the game with Clara Jeddeloh hitting a 3 to open the scoring. Lowry drew a foul and drained a free throw to get the Cardinals on the board. The Knights jumped out to an 8-5 lead prompting a Cardinal timeout.

The Cardinals adjusted to the Knights’ game plan when a Miller bucket kicked off an 11-0 run by the offense, giving them an 18-8 lead. The Cardinals continued to add to their lead and kept the Knights from scoring for four minutes. A flurry of goals from Miller, Ortega, and Lowry found the Cardinals up 37-18 at the sound of the buzzer signaling the end of the half.

A couple of fouls opened the second half and reopened the scoring for the Knights, who were attempting to chip away at the Cardinals’ lead. The Cardinals responded with a 3-0 run bringing the team’s lead to 20. With 12:35 on the clock, Kennedy Becker found her range and drained a shot from outside the arc. The Cardinals kept their foot on the gas and at the halfway mark of the half found themselves up 55-30. The Cardinals went on to add 9 points to the lead while continuously disrupting the Knights by clogging up the passing lanes before the final buzzer brought the game to a close securing the 64-39 victory for the Cardinals.

“We worked really well as a team,” said Junkermeier. “We found the open girl, we were unselfish with the ball, we knew where we needed to get it and then we were able to connect on a lot of just easy layups underneath the basket.”

Despite the strong defensive effort, Junkermeier said the team still has areas to work on early on the fundamental side.

“We were more disciplined in areas that we needed to improve on,” said Junkermeier. “But we still have a lot of attention we need to give to certain fundamental skills of the game.”

The Cardinals face off against St. James at 6:15 p.m. Friday.