No. 6 Lakers down Cardinals for 3AA crown

By Charlie Sorrells
Fairmont Basketball Association Contributor
MARSHALL – South Sub-Section champion Fairmont and North winner Minnewaska Area earned their respective appearances in Thursday night’s Section 3AA championship girls basketball game on the strength of high-intensity full-court pressure.
Unfortunately for the capacity crowd at the R/A Facility on the Southwest Minnesota State University campus, only one of the turnover-creating trademark defenses would exit the hardwood court with an invitation to the Class AA state quarterfinals at either Williams Arena or Maturi Pavilion in Minneapolis at either 6 or 8 PM on Wednesday, March 12.
Lauryn Ankeny, Sydney Dahl and Megan Thorfinnson proved the better multi-taskers by combining equally for 15 of the Class AA No. 6-ranked Lakers’ 20 thefts and each hoopster scored in double figures to power Minnewaska to a 53-38 triumph over the Cardinals in Marshall.
“All season long, we’ve run full-court straight man pressure that picks certain times and places on the court to spring a trap,” said Minnewaska head coach Nick Danielson, whose roster earned the program’s first state bid since 1999. “Our girls really bought into our defensive philosophy, and it paid off tonight as it has all season long.”
That was not the case, however, during the first 10 minutes of Thursday night’s sectional clash of titans as Brylee Miller, Ellie Ortega and Kennedy Becker combined for 13 points to trigger Fairmont’s game-opening 15-3 lead off the opening tip.
“Fairmont proved a physical matchup for us during the early stages of the game, so combine that with us not shooting well, and we put ourselves in quite a deep deficit to start out,” said Danielson, whose team improved to 27-3 overall by preventing the Cardinals from earning its first state berth since 2015.
Miller, who’s a verbal basketball commit to Minnesota State University-Mankato, tossed in 10 of her team-leading 16 points and doled out all three of her assists during the sectional’s first half to help the Cardinals trailed by just one – 23-22 – by intermission.
After Miller floated in an off-balanced runner and Ortega converted a low-post leaner off a Bria Williamson assist to widen Fairmont’s margin to 19-7, Thorfinnson locked on target from the perimeter to serve as the catalyst behind the Lakers’ momentum-changing 14-2 run during a 5-minute span that ended with 3 minutes left before halftime.
Thorfinnson flipped home a runner in the paint before bookending Miller’s breakaway basket off a Makayla Lowry steal-turned-assist with a pair of 3-pointers off assists from Gustavus Adolphus College basketball commit Addyson Kath and Dahl – who’s a hoops commit at MSU-Moorhead, respectively.
Kath’s baseline runner, followed by Dahl’s steal-turned-layup and ensuing two-handed odd-angled scoop flip, knotted the game at 21-all before Ortega’s solo free throw halted the Cardinals’ scoreless skid. Dahl later spotted Thorfinnson for her ninth and 10th points of the opening half to swing a one-point lead to the Lakers at intermission.
Fairmont stormed out of the lockerroom with a pivotal 6-0 run on the strength of Becker’s free throws, Miller’s baseline leaner and Ortega’s 8-foot jumper in the paint to grab a 28-23 lead only to have Olivia Danielson come off the Lakers’ bench and spur Minnewaska’s go-ahead  surge with six unanswered points via her own interior skills.
Despite Miller cashing in assists from Ortega and Williamson, respectively, to inch the Cardinals within 35-34 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Dahl and Ankeny proved the perfect inside-outside combination to reel off 16 unanswered points for the Lakers to put the game away. Ankeny, who finished with 11 points, snapped the nets on three consecutive 3-pointers to leave little doubt about the game’s final outcome down the stretch. Thorfinnson, Dahl and Ankeny each distributed four assists to match their five-steal individual performances for the Lakers.
Miller closed out her junior basketball campaign with a double-double of 16 points and a game-best 13 rebounds to complement three steals for the Cardinals, who capped a 21-8 season. Ortega capped a stellar prep hoops career with 11 points and seven boards, Becker chipped seven points and three assists, while Lowry and Gwyn Schultz helped Miller pace Fairmont’s 41-29 rebounding edge with seven and six caroms, respectively.
…
Minnewaska    23-30–53
Fairmont          22-16–38
FAIRMONT (38)
Ortega 5-11 1-3 11, Makayla Lowry 0-4 0-0 0, Becker 2-6 2-2 7, Schultz 1-2 0-0 2, Miller 8-15 0-3 16, Williamson 1-6 0-0 2, Traetow 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-45 3-8 38.
MINNEWASKA (53)
Kath 3-7 0-2 7, Randt 1-5 0-0 2, Ankeny 4-14 0-1 11, Dahl 6-14 1-1 13, Thorfinnson 4-8 0-0 10, Danielson 2-7 2-2 6, Kolstoe 2-8 0-0 4. Totals 22-63 3-6 53.
3-pointers: Minnewaska 6-24 (Ankeny 3, Thorfinnson 2, Kath 1); Fairmont 1-7 (Becker 1). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Fairmont 41 (Miller 13); Minnewaska 29 (Kath 7). Assists: Minnewaska 15 (Ankeny, Dahl and Thorfinnson 4 each); Fairmont 9 (Miller and Becker 3 each). Steals: Minnewaska 20 (Ankeny, Dahl and Thorfinnson 5 each); Fairmont 6 (Miller 3).