Newtown High School's girls' basketball team was shooting the ball lights out. You could say the Nighthawks were on fire. But a transformer in town was on fire, causing the gymnasium lights to go out, resulting in the February 21 South-West Conference tournament quarterfinal clash between NHS and New Milford to be postponed at the half.

The game began with minimal gym lighting that was running on a generator after what police said was a transformer fire took out power throughout parts of town. At the half, with Newtown owning a commanding 37-12 lead, all but one of the gym lights went dark.

There was an approximate 35-minute delay before school officials got word it would take at least a couple of hours for the lighting to be restored. The patient fans were not left in the dark any longer; NHS Public Address Announcer Jason "J" Edwards informed everybody that the game would be resumed the next day, Saturday, February 22.

The matchup will pick up at a new location, however, with the third and fourth quarters to be played at NYA Sports & Fitness, 4 Primrose Street, in Fairfield Hills, at 9 am.

Newtown, seeded No. 2 in the tourney, had 13 points from Carlie Smith, seven from Shea Murphy, six from Juliette Cryder, and five from Cyleigh Wilson. Smith sank a trio of 3-pointers, and Wilson and Murphy each hit one from downtown. New Milford is the No. 7 seed.

Semifinals are set for Monday, February 24, with the winner taking on either No. 3 Pomperaug of No. 6 New Fairfield at 7 pm. The Nighthawks, as the higher seed, would be the home team.