Newtown High School's girls' lacrosse team sandwiched a 9-4 loss at nonconference foe Branford on April 10 with an 11-5 win at Bunnell-Stratford the day before and a 14-2 victory over visiting Pomperaug of Southbury at Blue & Gold Stadium on April 14 in a pair of South-West Conference clashes. The Nighthawks, who defeated SWC team Immaculate of Danbury in the season opener, improved to 3-1 overall.

Against Bunnell-Stratford, Natalie McLean scored four goals and added an assist; Blake Heim-Sherwood logged three goals, two draw controls, two ground balls, and forced a pair of turnovers; Sara Ruddy tallied two goals, two draw controls, two ground balls, and forced two turnovers; and Nicki Kaplan scored twice. Goaltenders Emily Sachs and Nailah Hopson-Peters combined for seven saves.

In the win over Pomperaug, it was all Nighthawks as NHS took a 9-0 lead into halftime and pulled ahead 14-0 through three quarters of play. McLean again had a hot hand, this time logging six goals, at times battling past several defenders to get to the goal, and added two draw controls and a ground ball scoop. Kaplan had five goals and an assist; Gabby O'Sullivan recorded five assists; Heim-Sherwood logged two goals and a trio of draw controls; and Olivia Verdi had a pair of draw controls. The NHS goaltending tandem combined to make four saves as Sachs did not allow a goal in her time in net.

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