ABOVE: Fairmont's Gwyneth Schultz locks down Luverne's Ella Schmuck during the Section 3AA quarterfinals Friday night in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont girls basketball team shut down the scoring of Luverne in a 61-37 in the quarterfinal round of the Section 3AA playoffs Friday night.

Despite a slow start, the Cardinals found their footing and locked in the victory.

“We handled adversity,” said Fairmont head coach Sara Junkermeier. “They came out stronger than we did, and we started a little slow, and then we got back into our style of basketball and were able to play hard enough to get the win.”

Leading Fairmont was Brylee Miller with 16 points, while Kennedy Becker had 14 points. Ellie Ortega and Makayla Lowry each had 7 points, while Gwyneth Schultz had 6 points.

Friday night’s game had a familiar feel to this past Tuesday’s for Fairmont as it beat Luverne at home in the regular season finale 66-41.

Friday night’s first half was a physical affair for both teams. The intensity levels were high and the tone was set early as Becker drained a 3-pointer to open the scoring. It was with 11 minutes on the clock and Fairmont up 12-10 that Fairmont stepped on the gas with a 14-0 run triggered by Miller sinking a free throw.

Down 26-10, Luverne was able to stop the skid and began to chip away at the Fairmont lead. Foul trouble kept Luverne at bay, however, heading into the final minutes down 33-19. Fairmont was able to find a lane through the collapsing Luverne defense and extended the lead to 41-20 at the half.

The second half was a battle of wills between the two teams, as the scoring opened with 13:18 on the clock courtesy of Schultz. Luverne began to find ways to disrupt the passing lanes and slow down the inside shooting of Fairmont, but a shot from behind the arc by Bria Williamson extended the lead 47-24. There was 9:44 left in Luverne’s season when Miller started an 8-0 run that was capped by a Williamson free throw putting Fairmont up 55-24. Fairmont was effective in preventing the Luverne offense from finding a rhythm, but it was a 3-pointer by Makayla Lowry that concluded the scoring and locked in the Fairmont victory.

With the win, Fairmont moves on to face Pipestone in the semifinal round of the Section 3AA playoffs, a rematch from a game in which Fairmont won 73-50 back on Feb. 11.

“I feel very confident,” said Schultz. “Last time we played them it was, I mean, we started off really strong. They came back, but then we really put them in a hole and we can do it again.”

The semifinals will be on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when Fairmont takes on Pipestone on a neutral court to be determined.