CINCINNATI — Purcell Marian senior guard Dee Alexander was named Thursday afternoon as Ohio’s Ms. Basketball, becoming just the second player in state history to win the prestigious award three times.
“It hasn’t really soaked into me yet, but I know it will eventually,” Alexander said. “At the end of the day, you’ve done everything that you possibly could. So it’s like, why stop now? Just keep going.”
The University of Cincinnati signee and McDonald’s All-American completes her high school career Friday when Purcell Marian attempts to become the fourth girls' basketball team in state history to win four consecutive state championships.
“Being awarded Ms. Basketball for a third time etches Dee as one of the best high school players in Ohio’s history," UC coach Katrina Merriweather told WCPO 9 Sports. "This recognition speaks to her consistency, commitment, and improvement every year. Most impressive is how she has dominated while still being a team player on her final route to becoming a four-time state champion. I am thrilled to have Dee’s competitiveness and versatility impact our program. She is a proven winner who has competed at the highest levels.”
Hear how Alexander feels about wrapping up her last season of high school basketball:
Purcell Marian (22-6) plays Avon Lake (23-5) in the Division III state final at 1 p.m. Friday at the University of Dayton Arena. It is the first girls basketball state final of the weekend in Dayton.
Alexander, the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s all-time girls' basketball state tournament scoring leader, is set to receive her Ms. Basketball award after the game.
Alexander averages 20.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals for Purcell Marian, which has won 10 consecutive games.
“She’s just been phenomenal for our program,” Purcell Marian girls basketball coach Jamar Mosley said. “I could go on and on about Ms. Dee Alexander – Ms. Ohio – and what she means to our program, what she means to our school. She’s just a humble kid. She doesn’t have a big head. I’m just proud of the role model that she is.”
Las Vegas Aces forward Kierstan Bell is the only other Ohio high school girls basketball player to win Ms. Basketball three times. The former Canton McKinley star won the award for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019. The award started in 1988.
“I’m very grateful,” Alexander said. “Just the simple fact everybody around me always wants the best for me. But it’s about what I do on my own time, how I recover, and how I get in the gym every day. It’s just all the little things that come into play that not everybody sees. So just the simple fact to be able to do it – the second person in Ohio ever to do it – I’m very grateful for this moment.”
This year’s other finalists included Westerville South junior guard Ariyana Cradle, Springboro senior guard Bryn Martin, Anthony Wayne senior wing Elise Bender, Streetsboro senior post Naomi Benson, Lyndhurst Brush combo sophomore guard Tatiana Mason, Strasburg-Franklin senior forward Riley Thomas and Berlin senior forward Joplin Yoder.
The members of the Ohio Prep Sports Media Association (OPSMA) voted on the award last week.
Alexander, rated the nation’s No. 8 player in the 2025 class by ESPN, is No. 16 on the OHSAA career points list entering Friday’s game. Alexander has 2,348 points – just one point away from tying for No. 15 on that scoring list.
Alexander became the OHSAA's all-time girls' basketball state tournament scoring leader during the first half of the 2024 state final. She has scored 134 career points in the state tournament from 2022 to 2024 — with all those games at UD Arena. She is Purcell Marian's all-time leading scorer and the school's first athlete to earn Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year honors (2023-24). Alexander also won this year's Gatorade state ward.
Even beyond the statistics and awards spotlight, there is more to Alexander’s legacy.
“Great role model; great ambassador for our school,” Mosley said. “She’s been phenomenal in every aspect that you could possibly think of. She’s always going to hold a special place in my heart.”
Purcell Marian is attempting to become the fourth girls basketball program in OHSAA history to win at least four consecutive state championships.
Mount Notre Dame (2006-09), South Euclid Regina (2000-03) and Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown (2009-13) accomplished that feat.
Purcell Marian won the 2024 and 2023 Division II state titles and the 2022 Division III state championship.
Alexander predicted a fourth consecutive state title after the 2024 game. She said the journey wouldn't be complete until a state title her senior season.
Nearly a year later, Alexander enjoys every moment of her final week of high school basketball with her teammates.
“It’s very special; we all came in together as one,” Alexander said. “And we all made a goal for each other; we all want to leave as one. We all have one goal to complete. Our first goal was always to get better every day. To come in together, to finish together – it’s great.”
Greater Cincinnati has won Ohio's Ms. Basketball award five consecutive years, including Alexander (2023-2025) and Mount Notre Dame's KK Bransford (2021-2022), who is now a junior guard at the University of Notre Dame.
