Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team held visiting Conard of West Hartford to just a dozen second-half points on the way to a 45-37 victory in the first round of the Class LL state tournament on March 4. The Nighthawks, seeded 14th in the bracket, trailed only once in the second half before advancing past the Chieftains.

The Hawks had four players in double figures as Olyvia Shaw poured in 12 points, Mali Klorczyk scored 11 points, and Haley Ryan and Lauren Wilcox both dropped in ten. Kelly Merrick added a basket and blocked five shots. Shaw and Klorczyk had 12 and eight rebounds, respectively, and Sarah Lynch dished out nine assists. The Nighthawks sank six 3-pointers — two apiece by Klorczyk, Ryan, and Wilcox.

Newtown scored five points early in the third and held a 32-27 lead but went without a basket for several minutes. The Chieftains had six possessions with which to tie the game or claim the lead, and finally did the latter late in the quarter for a 33-32 edge heading into the fourth.

Merrick scored on a baby hook shot with a hand in her face, for a 34-33 NHS lead seconds into the final period, and the home team never looked back. Wilcox drained a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 37-33; Shaw scored off an assist from Lynch, and later added a foul shot to cap an 8-0 run. It was 40-33 Newtown with 3:17 to play. The Chieftains didn’t score a fourth-quarter basket until Dezyree Morales hit a putback of her own miss, trimming the Newtown lead to 40-35 with 2:14 to go.

Klorczyk and Haley Ryan had pivotal makes on front end one-and-one foul shooting opportunities in the final minute to help seal the win.

“We made some clutch plays down the stretch; we made some free throws down the stretch,” Newtown Coach Jeremy O’Connell said. “I’m very proud of the girls.”

Although both teams went through scoring droughts, the Hawks seemed to come up with key shots to halt any chances for Conard to gain momentum.

Trailing 16-15 entering the second quarter, the Nighthawks seized an early lead and held it for the better part of the stanza. Newtown sandwiched a Conard basket with a pair of shots from downtown, by Ryan and Wilcox, for a 21-18 lead. A Shaw steal and pull-up jumper answered a Chieftain hoop, and Shaw again responded with a basket after Conard scored, making it 25-22. After the Chieftains evened the score late in the period, Wilcox made a basket off a pass from Lynch for a 27-25 lead which Newtown carried into halftime.

Klorczyk opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer, and soon thereafter drove to the rim for two points, making it 32-27 before both defenses took over for much of the second half.

“When you hold a team to 12 points in the second half you have a good chance of getting wins,” O’Connell noted.

The Newtown coach added that the Chieftains were a “mirror image” of his team. Both squads played tight defense and forced the other into turnovers throughout the contest.

The Hawks advance to face the winner of No. 3 Mercy and No. 30 East Hartford in the second round on Friday, March 6. Tipoff is set for 7 pm on the home court of the better seed.