MARSHALL — The second-seeded Fairmont girls basketball team defeated top-seeded Jackson County Central in the Section 3AA Girls Basketball Tournament semifinals Thursday night 78-46.

The victory secured a section championship appearance for the Cardinals for the first time since 2022, where the Cardinals fell to Montevideo 43-32.

The Cardinals got everything going for them Thursday night as they punched their ticket back to the section finals.

“We clicked on all cylinders,” said Fairmont head coach Sara Junkermeier. “And that’s what you have to do at this time of year. We were very unselfish with the ball, and we played great defense like we do, and we outrebounded them. Those are the things you have to put all of those things together to keep advancing, and hopefully that’s something that we can do again next Thursday.”

Leading the Cardinals was Brylee Miller with 26 points, while Ellie Ortega had 17 points. Bria Williamson had 10 points, while Kennedy Becker had 9 points. Gwyneth Schultz had 8 points, while Makayla Lowry had 6 points.

The Cardinals will take on Minnewaska in a 5 p.m. game for the section title on Thursday. Minnewaska was the No. 2 seed in the North Subsection, while the Cardinals were the No. 2 seed in the south. Minnewaska carries a 26-3 overall record and an 11-1 section record into the game, with its lone section loss coming to New London-Spicer early in the season.