The Little Hawkeye Conference basketball season is down to its final week, and for Norwalk that means a chance to finish strong with a pair of home games.

The Warrior girls and boys squads are both aiming for a season sweep tonight as they host Newton in a varsity doubleheader that tips off at 6:15 p.m. Both games can be heard live on kniakrls.com (KNIA3) and live streamed on the Warrior Productions YouTube channel.

The boys game will likely determine second place in the Little Hawkeye standings as the Class 4A 7th-ranked Warriors and Class 3A fourth-ranked Cardinals are currently tied for second with 9-3 conference records. Norwalk has won 10 consecutive games and is 14-3 overall. Newton rides a five-game winning streak and is 12-4.

The Warriors held on late for a 58-54 win at Newton on January 10 as Redek Born scored a game-high 24 points. Norwalk coach Aaron Pelzer expects another challenging contest tonight, calling Newton a tough, resilient and well-coached team that plays a physical brand of basketball.

“I know the guys are looking forward to it,” Pelzer said. “It will be a fun game, fun environment, and we’ll see who is kind of deserving of second place in the conference.”

The Norwalk girls defeated Newton 56-36 the first time around, led by Bailey Birmingham’s 19 points. The Warriors are 4-15 overall and 2-10 in the Little Hawkeye while the Cardinals are 3-16 overall and 1-11 in league play.

Norwalk coach Jill Martin tells KNIA-KRLS Sports that her sophomore and freshmen-led team is excited to finish the regular season with a pair of home games this week and is looking forward to regional play as well. Martin calls the Warriors’ current youth movement a 24 to 36-month process of building the program’s foundation for long-term success.

Tonight’s coverage on KNIA3 will begin with the pregame show at approximately 6:00 p.m.