A much-anticipated rematch between the Norwalk and Pella basketball teams lived up to the competitive hype after several postponements pushed their second doubleheader to Monday, as heard live on 92.1 KRLS. The #9 in 4A Warriors girls outlasted the #13 in 4A Dutch 71-68 in extra minutes, while the Norwalk boys pulled away in the extra period after just missing a Pella upset bid in the 4th quarter with a 65-57 final.

Both games played out similarly in that the road team Dutch were able to pull out to first quarter leads. The girls ran out to a 16-2 advantage before the home team chipped away over the course of the first half. Norwalk took its first lead in the 4th quarter in a charge led largely by Bailey Birmingham, who finished with 40 points in the effort. The teams would trade leads or hold a tie 13 times in the final quarter plus overtime, before the girls in purple earned a narrow season sweep. Pella’s top scorer was Sophia Reynolds at 19 points, followed by 15 from Kennedy Van Vark. Norwalk’s Ava Carlson called the effort a huge win for the team as they fight for 2nd place in the conference and a top-8 ranking to host regionals.

“Tonight was an incredible battle against two great basketball teams. Both teams kept trading blows and responding to the different runs each team went on. Our players fought for 36 minutes and came up just short. I am so proud of how they battled,” said Pella Head Coach Blaine Forsythe.

While Pella took a small advantage in the first quarter, it was Norwalk who largely paced the festivities in the boys game. The Warriors at one point built a nine-point lead in the 3rd quarter, before the Dutch held their own strong charge, taking a 56-54 advantage late in the 4th. After Redek Born tied the score, Pella had a game-winning shot as time expire that missed. The Born show cranked up as he scored all nine for the home team in the extra four-minute allotment, totaling 34 in the game. Cameron Rowe led the Dutch in scoring for the second consecutive game at 14 points and Austin Schulte hit four critical three-point shots in the comeback effort, all in the second half.

Norwalk’s girls improve to 15-4 overall and the Dutch girls drop to 14-5, and both are 7-3 in league competition; the Warrior boys are now 13-3 and keep their one-loss league record in tact, while the Dutch boys drop to 10-7. Norwalk hosts senior night tonight live on KNIA3; Pella travels to Indianola, live on KRLS2 and 94.3 KNIA.