By Charlie Sorrells
Fairmont Basketball Association Contributor

FAIRMONT – Sara Junkermeier will look to blend the established talents of her girls basketball roster’s existing veterans with the promising hardwood skills of her incoming youngsters in 2024-25.
Junkermeier enters her eighth year on the Fairmont sideline with two hardworking starters and a handful of hoopsters with a wide range of playing time at the varsity level from last winter.
Junior Brylee Miller, a 5-foot-11 point-everything, and 5-9 senior power forward Ellie Ortega will provide a solid foundation to rebuild around on the heels of the Cardinals producing a 16-12 overall record, including a 67-58 Section 3AA South quarterfinal win over Luverne, last season. Fairmont lost a narrow 75-71 playoff decision to Windom Area in the sub-section semifinals.
“Brylee and Ellie have a ton of varsity minutes under their belts, but we did lose a lot of experienced players to graduation,” Junkermeier said in reference to all-Big South Conference selections Nevaeh Rahm, Grace Pendergast and Ava Terfehr. “Kennedy (Becker) played in nearly all of our games last season, while Emelia (Klanderud) closed out last year by playing with us for the final 11 games, so those minutes helped those two get used to the physicality and tempo at the varsity level.”
Becker, a 5-7 senior wing, and Ortega will serve as the Cardinals’ captains after averaging similar statistics a year ago. Ortega displayed her strength and quickness by averaging 5.4 points and an impressive 5.5 rebounds per outing to complement clips of 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals. Ortega also connected on 48.8 percent of her field goals, including 36.4 percent from 3-point range. Becker tallied 3.8 points, 1.5 steals and 1.2 rebounds per game in a reserve role.
Miller, who’s the red-and-white lineup’s floor general, returns for her third varsity campaign after earning selection to the all-conference first team two years running to go with earning the Sentinel newspaper’s All-Area player of the year honors in back-to-back seasons.
Miller topped Fairmont’s charts in scoring (15.9 points per game), rebounding (9.1), assists (119), steals (56), blocked shots (30) and 3-pointers made (39) to help guide the team to a perfect 6-0 record in winning the league’s Blue Division. Jackson County Central, Waseca and Blue Earth Area – along with Fairmont – comprise the division.
Norah Traetow, a 5-10 post player, and 5-2 guard Carys Gudahl will round out the Cardinals’ four seniors on the varsity roster, while twin siblings Makayla and Makenzie Lowry – along with Audrina Suckow – will represent the junior class. The 5-9 Klanderud is the lone sophomore on the varsity roster, while 5-9 Gwyneth Schultz represents the only freshman in the lineup to begin the season.
“With only 10 players on the varsity at this juncture, all of them are getting quality reps in practice, so we’re able to really work on some drills,” said Junkermeier. “As far as the starting lineup is concerned for Tuesday night’s (7:30 PM) season-opener against New Richland (Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) at home (Cardinal Gym), it is still up in the air.
“We (coaching staff) will see how each player reacts and performs during the first game, and we’ll evaluate from there,” Junkermeier said in reference to varsity assistant Sara Gudahl, B-squad mentor Terry Ehlert, C-squad coach Aaron Lowry and volunteer assistants Bryn Miller and Grant Strukel.
Junkermeier anticipates Windom Area and Jackson County Central as two of the top contenders in the Section 3AA playoff picture prior to the season’s tipoff.
“Windom has a lot of skilled depth returning, Jackson has Rylie Cother who’s dangerous every time out, and Pipestone also could be in the picture with their young talent,” said Junkermeier. “Our biggest goal is find our rhythm as a team, figure out how all the pieces fit together and make a run in February in the playoffs.”
Fairmont plays host to Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial on Tuesday, Dec. 3, before facing St. James at 6 PM Friday, Dec. 6, in Game 1 of a varsity doubleheader at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont.

Photo: Emelia Klanderud

 Photo by Charlie Sorrells