The difference between the third- through sixth-place teams in girls’ basketball’s South-West Conference was head-to-head tiebreakers. Newtown High School was among four teams with 9-4 conference marks that settled for the fifth spot and a trip to No. 4 Pomperaug of Southbury in the SWC quarterfinals on Wednesday, February 19 at 6 pm.

“There was a lot of parity up top this year which made every game fun,” Newtown Coach Jeremy O’Connell said.

And important. Newtown could have been as high as No. 2 and earned potentially two home games before a chance in the neutral site championship round. The regular season standings came down to the final game with visiting Bethel claiming its 11th SWC victory in a 45-30 win at NHS on February 14, and jumping into that No. 2 positioning. The Nighthawks honored their seniors — Mo Murphy, Ava Rochester, and Jenna Lagan — and then went out and made a game of it for most of the night.

Bethel held a slim 17-16 halftime lead as Leah Morris scored a basket for the Hawks with two seconds left ending an 8-0 Wildcat run. Bethel pulled ahead 31-25 through three quarters and extended the advantage early in the final period. Down 12 the Hawks stayed in it when Sam Diaspro nailed a 3-pointer to make it 39-30 with 3:36 to go but Bethel’s solid defense and some NHS shooting woes left the home squad without any points the rest of the way.

Diaspro led NHS with 15 points. Cassie Pickering had five, Ava Rochester four, and Addy Cordova, Ana Morris, and Leah Morris each chipped in with two. Rochester had nine rebounds and Diaspro had five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Morris had a steal and added four assists and Cordova had two assists.

The Nighthawks face a rematch with a Pomperaug lineup that defeated the Hawks 54-36 in early January. While a better seeding and home game would have been preferable O’Connell notes that it is what it is.

“You’ve got to beat everybody to win a championship anyway,” the coach said.

Whatever happens in SWC play the Hawks will have another round of playoffs when the state tourney begins.

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