Newtown High School's girls' basketball team beat host Immaculate of Danbury 44-26 on January 19.

The Nighthawks improved to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in South-West Conference play. Immaculate dropped to 5-7 (1-4).

Newtown's successful night began when Nicki DaPra scored the game's first points with a 3-pointer. Both teams traded buckets before Newtown closed out the first quarter on an 11-0 run, including a buzzer-beater 3-pointer by Cailin Wilson, for a 17-6 lead.

The Nighthawks went on a 16-0 run to build on the lead. With the second quarter winding down, Immaculate scored a few times to tame Newtown's lead, heading to halftime with a score of 24-14.

"At the end of the second quarter we gave up a couple easy shots. I knew with a deep breath and step back we'd be fine," NHS coach Jeremy O'Connell said.

Rolling with its momentum, Immaculate came out strong in the third quarter, with a couple good attempts to pick away the deficit. However, Newtown slowed down the pace and was able to again possess control of the game. Newtown entered the fourth quarter leading 35-17.

With an 18 point lead, Newtown seemed locked in. The Nighthawks closed out the game with good defensive stops from DaPra, Carolina Stubbs, and Amy Sapenter. These stops, along with a strong offensive contribution from DaPra, who scored 13 points, helped propel Newtown to the victory. Stubbs and Cyleigh Wilson contributed with six points each and Cailin Wilson and Riley Mulligan each had five.

"I was happy with our intensity and effort. ... I thought we did a good job dictating the tempo. We wanted to play fast and smart and we did," O'Connell said.

Newtown looked to bring this intensity to their next game, a visit to Bunnell of Stratford, on January 23, at 7 pm.

The Nighthawks will host Weston on Friday, January 26, at 7 pm.