A stellar three quarters of defensive dominance propelled the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team past visiting East Hartford 45-38 in the first round of the Class LL State Tournament on February 26.

The No. 7 Nighthawks built a 24-10 halftime lead and were ahead 31-13 through three quarters. No. 23 East Hartford put up 25 points in the fourth quarter to pressure the Hawks into hitting their free throws to close out the win.

Newtown got 20 points from Izzy Caron, who sank a couple of 3-pointers, one in each half, and made five of six free throws down the stretch. NHS got five points apiece from Jenna Lagan, Mo Murphy, and Bridget McCleary. Cassie Pickering scored four points and provided strong defense in a significant role off the bench. Sam Diaspro also scored four and Addy Cordova added two.

The Hawks are scheduled to travel to No. 7 Newington in the second round on Thursday, February 29. NHS lost 44-27.

In the East Hartford game, Newtown was ahead 10-6 after one quarter of play before pulling away in the second stanza. The Nighthawks scored the first nine points of the second to open up a 13-point advantage, prompting a time-out by the Hornets. NHS answered a mini 4-0 East Hartford run with five straight points to end the half, highlighted by consecutive baskets by Pickering, set up by McCleary and Caron.

The third quarter saw Newtown score the first five points of the half and put the finishing touches on a 10-0 run overall to seize a commanding 29-10 lead. The Hawks did not allow the Hornets to score until the visitors hit a free throw with 2:33 to go in the eight-minute period, and the Hornets managed their first and only field goal of the quarter with just 54 seconds left.

Murphy scored those halt-opening five points. She was assisted by McCleary on a nice back-door pass, then nailed a right-corner 3-pointer. Cordova scored late in the third, off a bounce pass from Caron. The Hawk offense was somewhat held in check in the third quarter but the defense more than matched that of East Harford. McCleary knocked the ball away to force a turnover and Lagan drew an offensive foul against the Hornets as part of Newtown’s stifling defensive effort.

In the fourth, the Hornets began to chip away. Once an 18-point lead was down to 11 with 4:52 to play. The teams traded 3-pointers with Caron answering the first of East Hartford’s five baskets from downtown in the final period with one of her own, a pullup from straight away. That was Newtown’s first field goal of the fourth and gave NHS a 35-21 lead with 3:22 left. After another Hornet 3 Lagan buried a right-side shot from beyond the arc, making it 38-24 with 2:56 to go.

McCleary took a pass from Caron and finished a fast break as the Hawks pushed the pace and extended the lead to 16 with 2:34 left. More 3-pointers got the Hornets suddenly in the game as they quickly cut the deficit in half, making it 40-32 with just under a minute remaining. The Hornets went into foul mode to keep their chances alive.

After Newtown went up ten points on a pair of Caron free throws East Hartford scored a 3-point play the old fashioned way with a basket and foul shot and then two more Caron free throws were answered by yet another Hornet 3, one of a few bank shots from long distance in the fourth. That made the score 44-38 with 25 seconds left, but Caron hit a foul shot to make it a three-possession differential and the Hawks moved on.

“I think defensively the first three quarters were the best defense we played all year,” Newtown Coach Jeremy O’Connell said. “They got hot and hit some shots. They’re a good team.”

Newtown’s coach was pleased not only with his team’s effort but the fact his squad prevailed against a physical foe, much like Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport, a South-West Conference rival that defeated the Hawks in the conference tournament.

“They are Kolbe-esque. We were able to be physical to control the tempo and limit their transition baskets — and I thought that was huge,” O’Connell said.

Early foul trouble on Ava Rochester and Diaspro, both of whom played solidly on D, left it up to some players off the bench. Pickering saw her first substantial varsity game action and rose to the occasion with some key plays in the paint — on both ends of the floor — including a couple of rebounds and a steal. McCleary had two of Newtown’s five steals and blocked a shot.

“I was really happy with the play of our entire team tonight,” O’Connell said.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.