If Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team wins its regular-season finale, it gets to host a South-West Conference tournament quarterfinal round game. If the Nighthawks lose, they’ll have to go on the road.

“Everything is laid out in front of us now. We control our own destiny,” said Newtown Coach Jeremy O’Connell, whose team hosts Pomperaug of Southbury at 7 pm on Tuesday, February 17.

Both teams are 10-2 in conference play, meaning the winner earns the tournament’s No. 2 seed, behind unbeaten New Fairfield, and the luxury of playing on their familiar hardwood to open tourney play when the SWCs tip off on Saturday, February 21. What’s more, if it’s Newtown, that’ll mean the potential for consecutive home games on the path to the championship game. That’s because Newtown High is the predetermined site for the February 24 semifinals.

Oh, and the loser has to go to the home court of one of the top two teams as either the No. 3 or 4 seed, depending on how 10-2 Notre Dame-Fairfield fares in its game with 1-11 Bunnell of Stratford. The team that comes up short seems destined to be the fourth seed and, thus, play the No. 5 team on New Fairfield’s court at 5 pm on February 21. Notre Dame, after all, is a heavy favorite to win and lock up the No. 3 seed. The winner of the Newtown-Pomperaug clash, meanwhile, will host the No. 7 seed at 7 pm.

Newtown’s only two losses in SWC came against New Fairfield (a ten-point defeat) and Joel Barlow of Redding (a one-point nail-biter). Pomperaug, meanwhile, lost by two points to New Fairfield and lost by nine to Notre Dame, a team Newtown defeated by 11 points.

The SWC championship game will take place on February 26, at a site to be determined based on the competing teams. The snow date for the February 21 quarterfinals is Monday, February 23.