Outside of top seed and unbeaten Cedar Rapids Kennedy, no Class 4A team enters the Boys State Basketball Tournament with more momentum than the Norwalk Warriors.

Norwalk, now 20-3 overall, heads to Wells Fargo Arena for Wednesday’s state quarterfinal vs. West Des Moines Valley on a 16-game winning streak. The streak includes two wins over 3A state qualifier Newton, one each over 2A state qualifier Pella Christian and 4A qualifier Ames, and another over then 5th-ranked Indianola. On January 31, the Warriors trailed Dallas Center-Grimes by 16 at the half before rallying back to win in overtime.

Victory number 16 in the streak was the sweetest of them all – a come-from-behind 64-58 substate final win over 9th-ranked Sioux City East last Tuesday.

But the 2022-23 season hasn’t been without its struggles. Three nights after the Warriors’ season opener at Ballard was postponed, they lost a home game to Pella. Two weeks later, Indianola topped Norwalk by three. And after a 57-46 home loss to DC-G right out of Christmas break, the Warriors stood 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Little Hawkeye Conference.

Norwalk head coach Aaron Pelzer asked his team to get tougher, and they have no doubt responded. The Warriors dedicated themselves to a defense-first mentality that has not only stifled opponents’ scoring, but also led to increased points in transition.

The Warriors’ resiliency was certainly put to the test against Sioux City East when they fell behind 15-3 in the opening minutes. They righted the ship with a 24-9 run and put together enough big shots and big stops down the stretch to outlast the Black Raiders and punch their ticket to state.

Coach Pelzer tells KNIA-KRLS Sports that overall toughness is one of the things his team hangs their hat on, and that being a tougher team than their opponent has contributed to several wins during the current streak.

Norwalk’s 4A state quarterfinal vs. West Des Moines Valley will start at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday, and will be carried live on kniakrls.com (KNIA3).