The New Franklin girls could not have chosen a worse night for an offensive letdown. Yet the Lady Bulldogs shot just 2-for-22 from the field in the first half and fared little better in the final two quarters to fall to longtime conference rival Cairo, 34-27, in Monday night’s Class 1 state sectional in Mexico.

The loss concluded an otherwise outstanding season for New Franklin under coach Parker Gross with a 22-7 overall mark. The Bulldogs also tied for the Central Activities Conference title with Cairo at 9-1.

“I just told the girls, they can’t let this last game dictate how they feel about the season,” Gross said moments after his team walked off the court for the final time. “It was an awesome season. It’s the best girls season since the 2014 team went to state. Co-conference champs with the team we just played against. We had an outstanding season with an awesome group of girls.”

Monday’s loss was an uncharacteristic offensive display from a team that averaged nearly 50 points a game and had split wins with Cairo already this season. New Franklin scored just two points in the first quarter on free throws by senior Canna Jennings 28 seconds after winning the tipoff. The Bulldogs didn’t score their first field goal until senior Lydia Burnett put back a rebound nearly two minutes into the second quarter. And the team’s all-time scoring leader, Lily Chitwood, was scoreless until there were three minutes left in the first half.

“I don’t think all of those shot attempts are created equally, as far as misses,” said Gross. “Some of those were just layups that you have to make. Some of them were wide-open opportunities from the outside. Some were just well-contested shots that we missed. When you add all those together and you make almost none of them, that’s a recipe for not scoring the basketball very well.

“It looked like the adrenaline was going, and we were a little off.”

Luckily for New Franklin, Cairo, a team that averaged 58.3 points per game and entered the game with a 19-game winning streak, fared little better at the rim. The Bearcats led 4-2 after one quarter and scored eight in the second period to go up 12-7 at halftime.

“It was a two-possession game for most of it. With the experienced group that we have, we can defend pretty well while playing poorly at the offensive end to give ourselves a chance,” Gross said. “That makes it tough when we’re defending well at the other end and can’t claw our way back.”

Cairo is known for its defense and attacked Chitwood all night, often doubling up on the 20.4-point-a-night scorer. Meanwhile, New Franklin bent to the Bearcats’ pressure and played timidly on the offensive end.

“I thought there were opportunities to attack the basket, and we didn’t,” Gross said. “In a game where you’re fighting to get scoring opportunities, you would like to be aggressive and create some of that. I thought their pressure was disruptive. We panicked a little bit in a couple of situations where we haven’t, coming down the stretch. That was big for them. They created some turnovers and some difficulties for us.”

New Franklin fans were hoping for a second-half comeback to echo the one that lifted the Bulldogs from a nine-point halftime deficit to a 36-30 win over Jamestown Friday night in the district championship. But instead, New Franklin turned the ball over on the first possession of the third quarter, allowing Cairo to extend its seven-point run from the end of the second quarter to a 14-2 run lasting midway through the third quarter. That nearly eight-minute stretch gave the Bearcats a 10-point lead with 3:43 to play in the third period.

Finally, with under three minutes to play in the third, Chitwood had an open look from the arc, swishing a three to put the Bulldogs back in the game. Later in the period, with the clock ticking down, 5’11 sophomore Belle Chitwood blocked a Cairo shot as the Bearcats burned the clock to take a final shot before the buzzer.

New Franklin came within four points early in the fourth quarter, but Cairo found an answer each time. Junior Chloe Brumley sank a 3-pointer with 5:31 left to keep the Bearcats in front by three possessions. Cairo dribbled time off the clock late in the game, forcing the Bulldogs to foul. One possession burned off 41 seconds until a whistle signaled the fifth foul by senior Skylar Shaw, sending her off the court for the final time in her high school career.

Cairo finished off the game going 3-for-6 from the line to clinch the sectional win and advance to the Class 1 state quarterfinals. The Bearcats will face District 11 champion North Shelby (20-10) at Salisbury on Friday as they play for a chance to make the Final Four for the third straight season after finishing runner-up the prior two years.

For New Franklin, the loss brought about the end of an era. Chitwood leaves the floor as the highest scorer in school history with more than 2,200 points. She finished with a game-high 12 points as one of only two players to finish in double figures. The other was Brumley, who led Cairo with 10 points.

“She would’ve traded every single one of those points to have won tonight,” Gross said. “Lily has been phenomenal. She’s an outstanding player, an outstanding student, and an outstanding person.”

Chitwood is one of five seniors bidding farewell.

“I’m really proud of all the girls, but the senior group we have has worked their butts off to compete and do things the right way,” Gross said.

“Skylar Shaw has been tremendous this season. From a year ago to this season, she has been a difference maker for our team. She has been really impressive to me with how she has stepped up,” Gross said. “Lydia Burnett battled some sickness throughout this year and for the last three years has been a solid player for us. She’s done so many things well. She creates opportunities and knocks down shots. She’s been a great basketball player for our program.

“Canna Jennings is another one who has gotten tremendously better. She stepped into a much larger role this year. She’s kind of the energy center for our team. She does an awesome job of being a senior every single girl can look up to.”

Another senior, Chloe Chitwood, underwent surgery before the season and was unable to play. However, Gross recognized her as being “a big part of who we are as a group.”

“I’m incredibly proud. That group of seniors has been awesome,” Gross said.