The season came to an end for the Norwalk girls basketball team Wednesday night, but as usual, the Warriors did not go down without a fight.

Bondurant-Farrar knocked down five 3-pointers during a pivotal 23-8 first-half run and held off every Norwalk rally the rest of the way, defeating the Warrior girls 51-36 in a Class 4A, Region 2 quarterfinal in Bondurant. The game was heard live on 94.3 KNIA and kniakrls.com.

Trailing 27-14, Norwalk scored the last five points of the first half to cut the margin to eight, but couldn’t get any closer despite a gritty effort and determined ball-hawking defense that created numerous steals. In the end, the Warriors simply couldn’t make enough shots against the Bluejays’ mobile 2-3 zone.

Playing the final third of the season with all freshmen and sophomores, Norwalk finished 6-16 overall. Bondurant-Farrar, featuring mostly upperclassmen, improved to 12-9 and will travel to Indianola Saturday night to meet the 14th-ranked Indians in a regional semifinal. It marks the second straight year in which the Bluejays have ended the Warriors’ season.

Norwalk coach Jill Martin told KNIA-KRLS Sports after the game that she couldn’t be more proud of her team for their all-out effort this season and their execution of Wednesday’s game plan. Martin believes the future is bright for Warrior girls basketball.

“We’re sad about tonight, but we’re not mad because our effort is unreal with this group. They will run through a wall,” Martin said. “We’re going to get so much better. There’s nothing we can do about growing a little bit more… We just have to be patient. They’re freshmen and sophomores, so we’re excited about (next) year and think of all those steps they took this year. They wouldn’t have had that experience in probably any other program. We are so excited about this off-season and the next two years.”

Bailey Birmingham led Norwalk with 15 points, matching the Bluejay’s Tayona Keys for game-high honors. Avery Thomas hit three treys and scored nine points for the Warriors, followed by Braelyn Clark with seven, Ava Carlson three and Ava Garvey two.

Norwalk held Bondurant-Farrar’s top scorer, Chesney Steenhoek, to eight points, but other players picked up the slack to help the Bluejays advance.