Norwalk’s long-awaited return to the Girls State Basketball Tournament began with a true gem on Tuesday afternoon.

Pearl Brown’s last-second putback lifted the fourth-ranked Warriors past fifth-ranked Central DeWitt, 56-54, in the Class 4A quarterfinal round at Wells Fargo Arena. The Sabers, who fought back from a 14-point first-half deficit, tied the game with 18 seconds left on Lauren Walker’s step-back 3-pointer. Norwalk freshman Braylyn Birmingham missed a contested shot in the lane as time was running out, but Brown was in perfect position for the rebound and scored a left-handed layup ahead of the buzzer.

The Warriors’ jubilant celebration left Brown in tears. The junior battled foul trouble in the first half and took only one shot prior to the game-winner. Brown tells KNIA/KRLS Sports that the final moment was a blur, adding that she just tried to crash the boards like she does in practice.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember it. I just jumped up in the air, grabbed it and put it right back up,” she said. “It was just a surreal moment. We all just embraced each other afterwards. It was just amazing.” Brown added: “We all just love each other so much. We’re such good friends together, all of our team bondings and everything. We’re such a tight-knit group, so it was just amazing to share this experience with each other.”

Brown’s final shot wasn’t the only Norwalk buzzer-beater of the day. With the score tied at 42, senior Bailey Birmingham banked in a 40-foot three to end the third quarter. Central DeWitt tied the score three more times in the fourth and even took a brief 51-50 lead, but the Warriors kept answering. Hannah Overholser’s fast break layup and Braylyn Birmingham’s driving score both gave Norwalk three-point leads down the stretch.

Bailey Birmingham said it was hard to settle down from Tuesday’s frantic finish. “I just keep replaying the moment in my head and just get so excited,” she said. “There’s definitely a little bit of relief knowing that we’re moving on to the next round, but we still have a big game ahead of us. We only have one day to prepare and we’re going to face a good Xavier team with a really good player, so we’re enjoying this one today and then tomorrow we’re definitely going to get back to work.”

Bailey Birmingham scored 15 of her team-high 21 points in the first half, helping Norwalk build leads of 19-8 and 32-18. Braylyn Birmingham added 16 points and helped guard Walker, the Saber standout who finished two points shy of her scoring average with 23. Norwalk junior Ava Carlson scored eight points and outworked everyone for 16 rebounds – nine of them offensive.

Making the program’s first trip to state since 2007, the Warriors improved to 23-1. They will now face Cedar Rapids Xavier (20-4) in a 4A semifinal on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. The Saints beat top-ranked Sioux City Bishop Heelan, 71-57, in the quarterfinal round.