FRANKLIN — One of the keys to Meadville’s success so far this season has been its strong presence underneath the basket and its ability to take care of the basketball.

On Monday, the Lady Bulldogs showed what happens when neither of those things happen.

Meadville committed 34 turnovers and failed to get into an offensive flow of any kind as it fell to Franklin, 74-43, in Region 5 girls basketball action last night at the Knights’ Castle.

The loss snapped Meadville’s four-game winning streak. The Bulldogs fell to 6-4 overall and 1-2 in Region 5.

Franklin, coming off a 55-47 win over state powerhouse Mercyhurst Prep, improved to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the region.

“They forced us into their game,” Meadville coach Darryl Jones said. “They forced us to play their tempo. We didn’t get the ball inside. We threw the ball away. We let the game get away from us early.

“We have got to get better. We have to work on some things and get better.”

Meadville entered last night’s game averaging close to 54 points per game, while allowing just 39.4. But by halftime, Franklin had already surpassed that average, jumping out to a 45-17 lead thanks in part to 23 turnovers by the Bulldogs.

The Knights also shot an outstanding 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field in the opening half and scored another 15 points from the foul line which they visited 25 times.

And defensively, Franklin held Meadville’s “Big 3” — Victoria Severo, Arianna Waid and Toni Feidler — to just 14 points total.

“We saw them on film four times,” Franklin coach Todd Wetjen said. “We knew they had two or three players we had to defend. And we just wanted to get after them in the full court, give them very few uncontested shots and control the inside game.”

The first half proved to be the key for the Bulldogs, who were outscored by just three in the second half.

Meadville limited its turnovers to 11 in the second half and got the contribution it needed from Severo and Feidler. Severo had 13 of her 19 points in the second half, while Feidler added 11 of her 15.

“We just made way too many mistakes in the first half,” Jones said. “We had way too many turnovers. It looked like a grade school game. And it’s fundamental things, not coming to the pass, not getting separation when you get a pass. That absolutely killed us.”

That and playing in severe foul trouble.