Newtown High School's girls' basketball team stuck with host Pomperaug of Southbury for much of the evening before the second-seeded Panthers pulled away to topple the No. 7 Nighthawks 53-42 in the South-West Conference tournament quarterfinals, on February 19.

Rylee Mulligan had 15 points, Haley Ryan scored nine, Mali Klorczyk dropped in seven, and Hailey Conrad had six for the Hawks.

The Nighthawks, who were beaten by only three points in a regular-season meeting between the rivals the week before, trailed by only two late in the third quarter of their playoff matchup.

Pomperaug led 38-33 heading into the fourth quarter and capped a 7-0 run early in the final period to claim a 42-33 advantage.

Ryan hit one of her trio of 3-pointers to bring the Hawks to within six, Mali Klorczyk twice drove to the basket for two points, each time answering a pair of Pomperaug free throws to trim an eight-point deficits to six. Down 46-40 with just under two minutes remaining, the Nighthawks couldn't inch closer as the Panthers finished on a 7-2 run, with all of their points down the stretch coming from the free throw line.

Klorczyk had nine rebounds, four steals, and a blocked shot; Mulligan dished out three assists; Wilcox had eight rebounds; and Ryan had two steals.

The Panthers move on to the semifinals and the Hawks will resume game action in next week's state tournament.

"We are going to walk out of here with our heads held high," said Newtown Coach Jeremy O'Connell, noting that his team played well but couldn't sink shots late in the contest, and the Panthers made their foul shots to put the game out of reach.

Karli Opakla had 15 points, and Carly Farina and Alison McCormick both had ten for Pomperaug. Lauren Robinson and Katy Rafferty had nine and eight, respectively, in the win.

"We knew it was going to be a nail-biter. It's like Yankees-Red Sox - you throw the records out the window," Pomperaug Coach Joe Fortier said.

Newtown and Pomperaug players participate in AAU basketball together, and then go head-to-head during the regular season.

"It's always a good game against Pomperaug," O'Connell said. "It's a great friendly rivalry."