Hillary Clinton acknowledges applause from supporters.

NEW YORK (CNN) – In a 10 p.m. conference call with reporters, Hillary Clinton’s campaign touted the night’s early victories — but were careful to avoid any big predictions for the rest of the evening.

Clinton’s political field director Guy Cecil said he expects the Democratic delegate chase to extend well beyond tonight and into April, when Pennsylvania will be the largest prize.

“We need to drill down in a number of states, not just in February but March and beyond,” he said.

Clinton’s strategist Mark Penn said their wins in Massachusetts and New York were “encouraging” and that the campaign felt optimistic about the evening’s later contests in New Mexico, Arizona and California.

“The night is not over,” Penn cautioned. He predicted, as the campaign has in recent days, that the campaign will be ahead in the overall delegate count at the end of the night (a tally that would include already-pledged superdelegates, of which Clinton has more than Barack Obama.)

He said Obama’s win in Connecticut, a state just miles from Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, New York, was to be expected.

“The biggest upset so far has been Massachusetts,” he said, referencing Obama’s prominent endorsements in the state. “I don’t think that Connecticut was really a surprise.”

Related: CNN's Candy Crowley reports on the outlook of Super Tuesday for Clinton

– CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby