Held under 40 points for only the third time this season, Newtown High School’s girls’ basketball team used its defense to get the job done, a 39-34 win over visiting Joel Barlow of Redding on January 29. With the win, the Nighthawks improved to 14-2 overall heading into the final four games of the regular season.

Newtown trailed 21-19 at halftime but outscored the Falcons 10-3 in the third quarter to establish a 29-24 advantage going to the fourth. Izzy Caron had a pair of baskets early in the second half and the score was knotted at 23 apiece before NHS took the lead for good.

Following a series of defensive stands by both sides, including multiple steals, a Bridget McCleary tie-up, and Barlow shot clock violation, Sam Diaspro rimmed home the go-ahead points on a field goal that made it 25-23 Newtown with 3:40 left in the third. Diaspro followed up with a steal on the defensive end and layup to extend the lead a little more than a minute later. McCleary’s offensive rebound and putback with 41 seconds left answered a Falcon free throw to cap the third-quarter scoring.

After the Falcons opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a free throw, McCleary hit back-to-back 3-pointers — one from straight on and the other from the right elbow for a 35-25 lead with 5:15 left. Barlow countered with a pair of consecutive 3-pointers of its own to slice the lead to 35-31 with 3:47 to go. Caron drove to the rim and scored despite a foul, making it a six-point lead.

Newtown’s D got back to stymieing the Falcons as the Hawks forced another shot clock violation and Diaspro hit the deck and drew an offensive foul, a charging call against Barlow. The Falcons, however, hit another 3-pointer to make it 37-34 Hawks with 1:13 left. The Falcons had chances to tie the game but Newtown escaped and Jenna Lagan’s putback with 14 seconds showing on the clock finalized the scoring.

“In the second half we played really, really good defense,” Newtown Coach Jeremy O’Connell said.

Newtown’s coach credited Barlow Coach Joe Carollo for, as always, having his team prepared and making things difficult on his Nighthawks.

O’Connell was pleased with how his team overcame an early seven-point deficit. Second-quarter 3-pointers by Diaspro and McCleary helped get Newtown close before the Hawks took over after the intermission.

McCleary finished with ten points, Ava Rochester had eight, Diaspro and Caron each dropped in seven, and Lagan had six. Diaspro had four of Newtown’s seven steals. Lagan grabbed 13 rebounds.

Newtown has come out on top on two of the three sub-40 point performances, also beating Bethel 35-33 earlier this season. The one such loss came in a 53-30 setback at defending South-West Conference champ New Milford on January 25. Lagan had eight points and Rochester seven in the New Milford game. O’Connell said New Milford outplayed his Hawks in all facets of the game to earn the victory.

The Hawks bounced back with a 66-55 win at Stratford the next night. Caron led the way with 22 points, Diaspro had 13, Lagan and Rochester both had eight, McCleary seven, Mo Murphy six, and Macey Arcario added four. NHS jumped out to a 24-15 lead after one quarter of play and was ahead 33-25 at halftime. The Hawks put up 22 points in the third and led 55-40 going to the fourth.

“It was a good up and down high school basketball game,” O’Connell said.

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