Junior guard Lily Chitwood scored the first 10 points of the game, including two 3-pointers, as the New Franklin Lady Bulldogs raced to a 52-22 home victory over Sturgeon on Friday night.

The hometown Lady Bulldogs came out in a full-court press, forcing several Sturgeon turnovers, which led to some fast-break opportunities. New Franklin led 19-4 after the first quarter.

“We executed well to start the game and knocked down our shots,” New Franklin Coach Parker Gross said. “We emphasized attacking the basket and not settling for shots before the game, and our girls did a great job from the start.”

Freshman Belle Chitwood joined the scoring action as she and Lily took turns scoring the first nine points of the second quarter for New Franklin before junior CannaRassa Jennings scored the next four, building a 34-12 lead at the half.

The second half was never in doubt as eight Lady Bulldogs entered the scorebook in the 52-22 route.

Coach Gross was very complimentary of his team’s second-half defense. “At halftime, I wrote down a goal for what we wanted to hold them to in the second half, and we did that. With that lead, we weren’t going to keep pressing, but it allowed us to work on our half-court defense. It got a little sloppy at times, but overall, we did a great job of applying pressure, getting in the passing lanes, and stopping them from making a run.”

Lily Chitwood led the way with 21 points, including four 3-pointers. Belle Chitwood and junior Skylar Shaw each added seven points. Jennings scored five points in the victory.

“Lily did a great job for us,” Gross said. “She’s a leader who scores but also sets up her teammates for their shots. That’s two games in a row that she started like that, and it really puts the focus on her and takes the pressure off her teammates, which gives them even better looks. For as good of a player she is, she’s an even better person.”

New Franklin opened the final week of the regular season with a victory at Pilot Grove on Monday 50-30. On Thursday, the Lady Bulldogs host their arch-rival, Glasgow, for the season finale. After beating Glasgow soundly in the first meeting at the Lady Yellowjackets own tournament in December, they fell at Glasgow in overtime in conference play, 60-57, on January 14. The rubber match tips off on Thursday at 6 p.m.

“We’ve got a big game at Pilot Grove on Monday, and we must take care of our business there. Glasgow will, of course, be a big game for us on Thursday. We’ve split up with them, and our teams know each other very well. It should be a great game.”

With Monday’s victory, New Franklin improves to 18-8 on the season.

The Bulldogs enter the Class 2 District 8 Tournament next week as the No. 2 seed. They face seventh-seeded Smithton at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. If the bracket is correct, New Franklin will advance to the championship game on Saturday, March 1, against host team and top-seeded Tipton. The Lady Cardinals remain the second-ranked team in all of Class 2 with appearances in the state final four in four out of the last five seasons. They claimed the Class 2 state title in 2023 and have won seven straight district championships.