What a difference a couple of weeks make. Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team, not long ago scratching and clawing to keep in the South-West Conference playoff hunt, reeled off five straight conference wins to become one of five teams with 7-2 marks at the top of the SWC each with four games to play.

“We’ve had the pieces and it finally clicked,” Mo Murphy said of the Nighthawks getting on a roll.

That said, the Hawks know they have work to do and improvements to make.

“We’re nowhere near where we need to be for playoff season,” said Murphy, whose team visited one of those 7-2 schools, Notre Dame Prep (of Fairfield), on February 4 and lost 47-39 but remains in the hunt for one of the top four spots and an SWC tourney quarterfinal-round home game.

The Hawks still have games with Weston and Brookfield, who have combined for only one conference victory, and one with Bethel, which picked up its eighth win on February 4. Then it is on to the SWC Tournament.

“We need to work hard and put in the effort between now and then,” Murphy said. “It’s all about communication for us — being loud on the court.”

“We still have a lot of mistakes we need to shore up but we’re headed in the right direction,” Newtown Coach Jeremy O’Connell said after his Nighthawks defeated visiting New Fairfield 45-36 on January 30.

Despite the final score, the New Fairfield game was a lot closer most of the way. The score was tied 26-26 at the half and 36-36 going into the fourth. After the Rebels converted a 3-point play for a 36-32 lead with 2:30 left in the third Newtown’s defense came up with a ten and a half minute shutout the rest of the way.

Cassie Pickering scored despite a foul with 55 seconds left in the third and Addy Cordova was set up by Sam Diaspro for a game-tying bucket with 18 seconds to go.

In the fourth Diaspro’s drive and scoop for two points gave Newtown the lead for good with seven minutes to play. Pickering scored off a Diaspro assist to push the lead to four with 5:17 to go. It took a while for the Hawks to pull away. Ana Morris scored on a layup for a 42-36 advantage with 3:08 left.

Newtown’s defense forced missed shots and errant passes, got to rebounds, and got tie-ups to thwart the Rebels. New Fairfield fell to 3-6 in conference play.

The Nighthawks typically don’t play much zone defense but had to turn to that to slow down the Rebels in this one. O’Connell was pleased with the way his team adjusted.

Winning a closely-contested game was big for the Nighthawks who had lost five games decided by five points or fewer.

“That’s a huge step in the right direction for us,” O’Connell said.

“I think we’re getting there,” Diaspro added.

Diaspro had 21 points, hitting a trio of 3-pointers, and also had four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block; she hit 8 of 11 foul shots. Pickering registered eight points, Morris seven, and Cordova six. Morris also contributed five steals and four assists; Murphy had two assists; Pickering eight rebounds and two assists; Ava Rochester added two points, a steal and an assist; and Cordova logged a pair of rebounds and two assists.

In the loss to Notre Dame, Diaspro scored 15, Pickering had seven points and 11 rebounds, and Rochester recorded five points and ten rebounds.

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