The New Franklin girls kept their perfect conference record intact with a Central Activities Conference win over Community, 56-26, at home on Friday.

Senior Lily Chitwood continues to raise the bar as the Lady Bulldogs’ all-time leading scorer. She broke the previous record of 1,831 career points set by Amy Dority in 1993 with a 17-point performance against CAC rival Glasgow the previous Tuesday, Jan. 13. She then led all scorers with 21 points, a game-high seven assists, five steals, five rebounds, and two blocks at Community.

“Lily did a little bit of everything in this game for us,” said New Franklin coach Parker Gross. “She had a great all-around game.”

Friday’s matchup was the second in nine days between the two teams. The Lady Bulldogs won the first go-around in the semifinals of the New Franklin Tournament. Friday’s win also spoiled Community’s unbeaten conference record, which now stands at 4-1.

“We played well against this team just over a week ago, and I think it can be hard to go into an away game like this with the same level of focus after that, but our girls were locked in and ready to go,” Gross said. “Community is a well-coached team and always seems to find a way to make things tough for their opponents.”

After battling to a two-point margin after one quarter, New Franklin turned its 11-9 edge into a 30-14 lead by the mid-game break. The Bulldogs went on to outscore Community 26-12 in the second half.

New Franklin shot 61% from the floor, dishing out 16 assists on 22-for-26 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs sank four of 10 3-point attempts and were nearly perfect from the line, converting eight of 10 free-throw chances.

“That had a lot to do with the fact that we moved the ball really unselfishly and found a good shot for someone within the offense,” Gross said.

Belle Chitwood, Callie Chitwood, and Canna Jennings each scored nine points for the Bulldogs, with Skylar Shaw adding eight. Jennings shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.

“Belle and Skylar really anchored the defense for us inside with 12 combined rebounds and six blocked shots,” Gross said. “Canna did a great job tonight for us, defending and rebounding well and finishing at the rim.”

Kaytlynn Arens paced Community with eight points, followed by Peyton Beamer with seven.

New Franklin, ranked 10th in Class 1, improved to 12-2 overall. The Bulldogs remained on the road with a CAC game at Pilot Grove on Tuesday after the Advertiser went to press. On Thursday, they return home for a tough test against Harrisburg (10-3), ranked eighth in Class 2 as of Monday’s poll (see Page 8).