Norwalk basketball standout Braylyn Birmingham reached 1,000 career points as a sophomore on Friday night, highlighting the Warriors’ doubleheader sweep at Indianola. Both Norwalk squads pulled away in the second half, the girls winning 83-53 and the boys prevailing 66-45, heard live on 94.3 KNIA and the KNIA3 stream. Members of the 2001 Indianola boys basketball team were recognized at halftime of the boys game, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Indians’ lone state championship.

Birmingham achieved the 1,000-point mark in just her 41st career game, hitting the milestone on her final basket of the night – a tough left-handed scoop shot. She scored a game-high 26 points, inflicting much of her damage on drives and free throws. Norwalk coach Joe Sigrist tells KNIA Sports: “She’s such a special player. I’m glad she’s our point guard, and to score 1,000 points in just 41 games, as a sophomore, just tremendous. Tonight was a special night for her, a special night for our whole team… Just so proud of Braylyn and her work ethic.”

Senior Hannah Overholser had a breakout night offensively for the Class 4A third-ranked Warriors, knocking down mid-range jumpers and three 3-pointers in scoring 18 of her 25 points in the second half. Pearl Brown also hit double figures with 11 points and Makenna Roeder scored seven. Norwalk led 34-30 following a competitive first half, then took their game to a higher level in outscoring Indianola 32-14 in the third quarter. The Class 5A 11th-ranked Indians were led by Madison Grover’s 14 points. Lauren Olson scored 10 points in less than a half before leaving the game due to injury. Alexa Guyer and Julia McGraw added nine apiece.

The boys game was also a tale of two halves. Indianola built leads of 20-10 and 24-14 in the first half, but Norwalk rallied to take a 36-35 halftime advantage. The Warriors tightened up their defensive focus in the second half, outscoring the Indians 9-7 in the third quarter and 21-3 in the fourth. They finished the game with 13 made 3-pointers.

Norwalk junior Tillman Papcun hit six treys and tallied a game-high 28 points. Audric Pelzer added four 3-pointers and 14 points and James Hatlevig scored eight. Indianola’s Easton McGraw tallied 19 of his team-high 20 points in the first half and Bryant Ritchie added 10. The Indians made eight 3-pointers in the first half, but added only one more after the break.

The Norwalk girls improved to 15-1 overall and 9-0 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. The boys are now 11-4 and 7-2, respectively. The Warriors host Dallas Center-Grimes on Tuesday night. The Indianola girls dropped to 11-5 overall and 5-3 in the LHC while the boys are now 7-6 and 4-4. The Indians return to action on Tuesday night at ADM.