NEW RICHLAND – Fairmont produced a pivotal 16-0 run midway through the second half to draw even with Class A No. 9-ranked New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva before the visiting Cardinals caged the Panthers in a back-and-forth final 7 minutes of regulation Tuesday night.
Minnesota State University-Mankato basketball commit Brylee Miller tipped off her final prep campaign with a game-best double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds to complement a game-high six assists and three steals to engineer Fairmont’s 63-62 triumph over NRHEG in their nonconference clash in New Richland.
“We knew it’d be a test for us, opening our season against a physical team like New Richland, who qualified for the (Class AA) state tournament last year,” said Fairmont head coach Sara Junkermeier, whose lineup tips off a varsity doubleheader at 6 PM Tuesday, Dec. 2, in Luverne.
Trailing 46-36 on the heels of the Panthers’ 8-0 surge ignited by Quinn Vanmeldeghem’s traditional 3-point play and putback basket, Gwyn Schultz delivered six of her eight points to bookend the Cardinals’ key double-figure offensive run to recapture the lead with 8 minutes to go in the second half.
Olive Kawecki spotted Schultz for a low-post turnaround for one of her three assists in her varsity debut before Kawecki’s third of four steals triggered Makenzie Lowry’s layup to narrow Fairmont’s gap to 46-40. Miller then buried a left-corner 3-pointer off a Makenzie Lowry assist to force NRHEG to call timeout at the 10-minute juncture.
Miller converted an ‘and-1’ 3-point play out of the break before floating home the go-ahead leaning runner in the lane for a 48-46 margin with 9:05 showing on the scoreboard. Schultz later cashed in a Miller assist for a low-post leaner before Miller spotted Schultz again for a power-play basket from the low blocks to cap the 16-0 surge.
Clara Buendorf and Camryn Vanmeldeghem answered for the Panthers with a pair of trifectas sandwiched around a Kawecki 3 to inch within 55-52 coming down the stretch. Schultz and Miller worked the paint for back-to-back baskets to build a seven-point lead before Camryn Vanmeldeghem and Ezra Boerner drilled consecutive treys to whittle NRHEG’s gap to only one with 4:24 remaining.
Miller and Camryn Vanmeldeghem – who posted a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds – matched each other driving scoop for driving scoop before Makayla Lowry tossed in a solo free throw for a 62-60 lead with exactly 1 minute to go in regulation.
Quinn Vanmeldeghem, who produced 17 points to complement 10 boards and a co-game-best six assists, utilized her vertical leap to stick a game-tying putback with 20 seconds remaining. Miller, however, swung a 63-62 lead to Fairmont -- the ninth lead change of the game -- with a solo free throw at the 8.4-second mark before Kawecki’s floor-skidding steal of NRHEG’s ensuing inbound pass led to the Cardinals’ timeout with 4.4 seconds to go. Emelia Klanderud alertly inbounded a pass off a Panther defender to prevent a turnover, and later inbounded to Miller, who held the basketball as time elapsed to clinch Fairmont’s one-point win.
Makayla Lowry generated 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Cardinals (1-0), Schultz tallied eight points, five boards and three steals, while Kawecki supplied eight points, four thefts and three assists. Bria Williamson and Makenzie Lowry chipped in five and four points, respectively.
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Fairmont     31-32–63
NRHEG       30-32–62
FAIRMONT (63)
Miller 10-18 7-11 28, Makayla Lowry 4-5 1-5 10, Schultz 4-6 0-0 8, Makenzie Lowry 2-5 0-0 4, Klanderud 0-0 0-0 0, Williamson 2-4 0-0 5, Kawecki 3-6 0-0 8. Totals 25-44 8-16 63.
NRHEG (62)
Schlaak 0-5 1-4 1, Q. Vanmaldeghem 8-14 1-2 17, Buendorf 4-10 0-0 11, Camryn Vanmaldeghem 11-30 1-1 25, Stork 2-3 0-0 4, Boerner 1-8 1-2 4. Totals 26-70 4-9 62.
3-pointers: NRHEG 6 (Buendorf 3, C. Vanmaldeghem 2, Boerner 1); Fairmont 5 (Kawecki 2; Miller, Makayla Lowry and Williamson 1 each). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: NRHEG 32 (Q. Vanmaldeghem and C. Vanmaldeghem 10 each); Fairmont 30 (Miller 13). Assists: Fairmont 13 (Miller 6); NRHEG 10 (Q. Vanmaldeghem 6). Steals: Fairmont 16 (Kawecki 4; Miller and Schultz 3 each); NRHEG 10 (Schlaak and C. Vanmaldeghem 3 each).
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Bria Williamson netted 10 points to top a balanced scoring effort as Fairmont topped NRHEG, 55-29, during B-squad action Tuesday night in New Richland.
Olive Kawecki contributed eight points for the Cardinals (1-0), while Kaylee Kloeckner supplied seven points.