DAYTON, Ohio — The Princeton High School girls basketball program won’t ever forget the special journey of this season.
Pickerington Central defeated Princeton 47-44 in the Division I state final Saturday night in front of 2,825 fans at the University of Dayton Arena. And yet the Vikings are resolved to return to this statewide spotlight next season.
“We’re not done yet,” Princeton coach Dee Davis said. “Princeton has a lot of power even after this year. We’re going to continue to work hard and get back to this stage.”
Princeton (21-7) made its second state final appearance in the past three seasons after the Vikings won the 2023 championship. The Vikings persevered through adversity throughout this season to reach the program’s fourth state final.
“People counted us out early because we had some dropped games,” Davis said. “But, our kids fought hard all season.”
Senior forward Kali Fortson scored a game-high 19 points and had nine rebounds to lead Princeton, which had won 14 consecutive games entering the state final.
Senior guard Mari Gerton had eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Freshman guard Erin Thomas had six points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists.
The Vikings trailed 23-17 at halftime but tied the game at 27 on Gerton’s jumper at the 3:58 mark of the third quarter. Fortson’s 3-pointer before the buzzer gave Princeton a 32-29 lead and plenty of momentum entering the fourth quarter.
Princeton led by seven points early in the fourth. That lead was trimmed to six a few times. Fortson's field goal gave Princeton a 40-34 lead at the 5:45 mark. However, Gerton left the game with 5:43 remaining with an apparent injury.
“When Mari went down it hurt us a little bit as far as offensively,” Davis said. “But, our kids – they’re made to step up and help each other out. Next man mentality. We just had some moments where we had careless turnovers, some missed opportunities. They hit a couple nice shots at the end. Two great teams competing.”
Pickerington Central sophomore guard Zoe Coleman made a 3-pointer with 2:06 remaining to put the Tigers up for good.
Junior Gabby Plair scored 13 points while junior Blossom Wallace had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists for Pickerington Central (25-3), which won its eighth state championship and the program’s first title since 2018.
