Newtown High School's girls' basketball team, seeded second, cruised to a 47-38 triumph over visiting and seventh-seeded Norwalk in the Class LL state tournament quarterfinals on March 9.

With the win, the second-seeded Nighthawks earn a trip to the semifinal and a rematch with Hamden on Friday March 13 (time and location to be be determined; check back for updates). Hamden defeated Newtown in last year's state playoff quarterfinal and went on to fall to eventual champ Norwalk. The winner will face top-seeded Staples of Westport or No. 13 Greenwich in the championship March 21 or 22 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Nighthawks jumped out to a 28-12 halftime lead. It was 19-11 when the Hawks finished the half on a 9-1 run highlighted by Shea Murphy and Amy Sapenter 3-pointers.

After a Carlie Smith 3-pointer gave Newtown a 31-16 lead early in the third quarter, the Bears scored nine straight points to pull to within five with 2:29 left in the stanza. A strong passing sequence led to Juliette Cryder's open-look baseline basket to end the run and Chloe O'Connell nailed a 3-pointer, restoring order and giving Newtown a 36-26 lead heading to the fourth.

In the final stanza, the Nighthawks chewed blocks of time — in a couple of instances about two minutes — to help put the game away. The Hawks made enough free throws down the stretch and also had four offensive rebounds off missed foul shots, including a few by Cryder, to maintain a comfortable lead.

Newtown Coach Jeremy O'Connell said after reaching the state quarters two years in a row that one of this year's objectives was to go deeper in the bracket.

This marked the second time Newtown has beaten the Bears this season, previously winning a December meeting at home.

"Hat's off to Norwalk. They fought hard," O'Connell said.

"It feels awesome. It feels great to have a really dominating win at home and get to the semis," Cryder said.

The Newtown coach said he is proud of his team and noted that there are not any superstars but a group of players who take on their roles and execute.

The Nighthawks got contributions from up and down the roster led by Cryder's ten points. Sapenter and Cyleigh Wilson both had seven, and Smith and Emma Magazu each had six. The Hawks drained six 3-pointers — two by Smith.

Sapenter had a dozen rebounds and trio of assists, Cryder grabbed eight rebounds, and Magazu had a pair of Newtown's seven steals.

Hamden is the No. 19 seed. The Nighthawks are not looking past their next opponent but O'Connell knows his team has a chance to advance if it plays as well on the defensive end of the court as it has been.

"If we play our defense we have a chance in every game," said O'Connell, referring to his team's pressuring D.