Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team hopes the third time is the charm. The Nighthawks will face a Pomperaug of Southbury team that they lost to twice during the regular season, in the quarterfinal round of the South-West Conference Tournament on Saturday, February 22. The teams will square off at 5 pm on the court of SWC top seed Lauralton Hall of Milford.

The Nighthawks closed out the regular campaign with a Senior Night win over Bunnell of Stratford — 51-37 — in a rescheduled game on February 20. With the triumph, the Nighthawks finished with a 10-5 SWC record and locked up the fifth seed. The Pomperaug Panthers (11-4) are the fourth seed in the eight-team tourney.

Newtown, New Milford, and New Fairfield all finished with the same conference records, but the Hawks defeated both of these foes. New Milford earned the No. 6 seed and a quarterfinal-round date with third-seeded Masuk of Monroe. New Fairfield, seeded seventh, drew No. 2 Kolbe Cathedral of Bridgeport. Lauralton Hall will take on No. 8 Immaculate of Danbury in the other first-round contest.

The semifinals are scheduled for Tuesday, February 25, at Bethel High School. The winner of the Newtown-Pomperaug tilt will face the Lauralton-Immaculate winner at 8 pm for right to play in the February 27 championship contest (7:30 pm at Masuk High in Monroe).

In the regular season, Pomperaug held off Newtown for a 43-38 victory in a game played at Western Connecticut State University. In a rematch in Southbury, the Panthers pulled away for a 52-41 win.