The undefeated Norwalk girls lived up to their #3 in class 4A ranking as they dominated Indianola 69-30 Friday evening, while the Indianola boys picked up their biggest win in the last two years with a 37-32 defensive battle victory over the Warriors with the doubleheader heard live on 94.3 KNIA.
The Norwalk girls went on a run early to lead 22-6 after the first quarter and 39-14 at halftime, then started the third quarter hitting three straight three-point buckets to get to running clock and not looking back. Three athletes scored in double-figures for the Warriors, with Braylyn Birmingham leading the way with 18, Hannah Overholser with 16, and Grace Linder off the bench with 11. Head coach Joe Sigrist said after the game it was important for the Warriors to get a win on the road against rival Indianola, especially after the Indians upset Norwalk last year.
Madi Grover led Indianola with 13 points.
It was a defensive slugfest in the boys contest, with neither team finding an offensive rhythm the entire contest. Indianola held a slim lead for the majority of the contest up 13-8 after the first and 23-20 at halftime. Indianola scored on a pair of free throws to start the third, but Norwalk would hit back to back three-point shots to reclaim a 26-25 lead, only to see Indianola make another two free throws for the only scoring of the third quarter and lead 27-26 going into the final eight minutes. The game continued to be close, with Indianola holding on to a 34-32 lead into the final minute, but Norwalk was unable to score and the Indians got clutch free throws from Hayden Schulte to ice the game and get their first win over Norwalk since 2021.
Indianola senior Andrew DeWall said after the game while the offense needs to do better at finishing, anytime you can hold an opponent to 32 points you should win the game.
George Blake led all scorers with 14 for Indianola, while Timothy Koerselman and Grady Sigrist each had 10 for Norwalk.
The Norwalk girls remain undefeated at 9-0 and 3-0 in Little Hawkeye Conference play, and will play Southeast Polk today, while the boys fall to 4-2 and 2-1, and will play Valley this afternoon.
The Indianola girls fall to 3-5 and 2-1, and the boys improve to 2-3 and 2-1, and both teams will wait until 2025 to next hit the court.