The Little Hawkeye Conference opener showcased the depth of the Class 4A fourth-ranked Warrior girls in a 70-35 win over Pella, while it highlighted the Norwalk boys pulling just far enough away late from the Dutch in the boys game 58-54, in a doubleheader heard live on 92.1 KRLS Friday.

It was a 16-2 flurry to start festivities for the Norwalk girls and they never looked back, steadily building their lead on the Dutch. Norwalk highlighted their new-found depth in 2024-25, keyed by freshman Braylyn Birmingham and her 20 points and Hannah Overholser’s 15-point performance.

The boys nightcap featured 23 ties or lead changes through the first 20 or so minutes before the home team Warriors built a small advantage they were able to hang on to until the end, fueled in part by 11 second-half Dutch turnovers. Norwalk was paced by Grady Sigrist and his 28 points — 16 of which were scored in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Jack McGuire led the Dutch with 15 points and Austin Schulte added 12 in his return from injury.

The Warrior girls are now 5-0 with their first conference win while the Dutch girls drop to 2-2, and Pella’s boys open the new year at 0-1 and the Norwalk boys move to 1-1. Norwalk travels to Winterset on Monday for a twin bill that can be heard on 94.3 KNIA; the Dutch are headed as far southeast as they can go in Iowa to Keokuk on Tuesday, which can be heard on 92.1 KRLS.