DES MOINES, Iowa – Norwalk’s Braylyn Birmingham responded when her team needed her the most.
Birmingham took over in the game’s final 14 minutes to help the third-seeded Warriors pull away to a 50-37 victory over Central DeWitt, setting up a semifinal showdown with a long-time rival.
Norwalk (22-2) will play second-seeded Dallas Center-Grimes at 5 p.m. Thursday, with the winner advancing to Saturday afternoon’s championship game. They met twice in the regular season and split, each winning on the other’s court.
Birmingham, the state’s No. 2 scorer with a 30.1 average, struggled with her shot at times but was on the mark at crunch time. The 5-foot-11 sophomore scored 16 of her team’s 19 points during a key second-half stretch and finished with 26 on 8-for-16 shooting. She made all 10 of her free throws, grabbed 10 rebounds and added two assists, two steals and two blocks for good measure.
Pearl Brown added 11 points for the Warriors, making all five of her free throws and helping out in other areas with five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Norwalk got further help on the boards from Ava Carlson (nine rebounds) and Makenna Roeder (eight). The Warriors outrebounded Central DeWitt 38-25 and repeatedly cashed in at the free throw line, making 16 of 17.
Jaelyn Sinclair led Central DeWitt with 13 points in this rematch of a first-round game a year ago, which Norwalk won 56-54 on Brown’s follow-up shot at the buzzer. Ava Putman added 10 points for the Sabers, who had won 23 straight games after losing to Iowa City High in their opener.
The game was more tense for the Warriors than what the score indicated. While they led from the beginning and were up by 11 points in the third quarter, Central DeWitt kept staying within striking distance and trailed only 38-33 after Lena Perrone knocked down a jumper with 3:03 left to cap a run of five straight points.
Birmingham, who had been doing most of Norwalk’s scoring at this point, then made what might have been her biggest basket of the game. A right-hander, she drove down the lane and dropped in a soft shot with her left hand to stop the Sabers’ momentum. Moments later, she blocked a shot, grabbed the ball, got fouled and made both shots for a 42-32 lead with 2:24 left.
She sank two more free throws 15 seconds later and topped off her afternoon with a putback to stretch the lead to 46-32 and the Warriors were out of danger.
Norwalk beat Dallas Center-Grimes 47-32 the first time they met on Jan. 6. DCG returned the favor with a 46-43 win at Norwalk on Feb. 3. Now it’s time for the rubber match.
