ABOVE: Farimont's Brylee Miller drives to the basket on a fastbreak against Jackson County Central Friday night in a Big South Conference girls basketball game Friday night in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT – Brylee Miller scored 39 points, including her 1,000th career point, to lead the Fairmont Cardinals past the Jackson County Central Huskies Friday in a Big South Conference girls basketball game.

“I mean it’s awesome,” said Miller. “It’s a big milestone for a lot of people, but I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my teammates. I mean, they caused those turnovers down on the defensive end, which turned into layups for me, so a lot of credit to my team.”

Gwyneth Schultz added 9 points for the Cardinals (5-1), while Ellie Ortega had 7 points. Kennedy Becker had 5 points and Makayla Lowry had 4 points.

Not only was this a major milestone for Miller, but it was an important victory for Fairmont against a conference opponent in JCC (3-5).

“It was a big win,” said Fairmont head girls basketball coach Sara Junkermeier. “We came out ready to play. We started the game ready to play and that was huge and we never took our foot off the gas.”

The first half opened with a 7-0 run by the Cardinals, who kept the Huskies off the board for the first three minutes of the half. The Cardinals went on a 6-0 run started by a Schultz free throw. At the halfway point in the half the Cardinals were up 18-9 before a 10-0 run by the Huskies tied things up 21-21. The Cardinals wasted no time regaining the lead, outscoring the Huskies 11-5 to finish the half with a 32-26 lead.

Miller opened the second half draining a 3-pointer from behind the arc and starting a 12-0 run that jumped the Cardinals out to a 43-26 lead. Moments later, the Huskies went on a 6-0 run, cutting the lead to 9 points and making the score 46-37. Fairmont continued to keep up the pace, responding with a 5-0 run and widening the gap to 51-37. The teams continued to exchange baskets when Miller drove to the rim for a layup bringing the lead back to 14 points 56-42. The Cardinals only allowed 6 more points, closing out the game 68-42.

The Cardinals’ next game will be a tournament appearance Friday against Glencoe-Silver Lake at 6 p.m. in Windom.