DAYTON, Ohio — The Princeton High School girls basketball team will play for a state championship Saturday night at University of Dayton Arena.
Princeton rallied from a five-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Grafton Midview 61-57 in a Division I state semifinal Friday night.
Princeton (27-2) advances to play Olmsted Falls (24-3) in the state final at 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
Princeton, winners of 16 consecutive games, is in its first state final since 2014 when the Vikings won the Division I state title. Princeton also captured the Class AAA championship in 1987.
"This is a huge moment for the program, for the Princeton community," Princeton coach Dee Davis said.
"Just this week — feeling all the love and the support. These young ladies had a great experience today getting sent off to here. And just to see how proud everyone is of this program. We want to bring it back to Cincinnati. We want to bring it back to Princeton. We're very prideful in that. We have a great opportunity for us tomorrow to get back in here and work for it."
Princeton persevered through a difficult three quarters on Friday night. The Vikings trailed by eight points (29-21) at halftime and by five entering the fourth quarter.
Sophomore forward Kali Fortson's three-point play broke a tie and gave Princeton the lead for good with 2:21 left in the game. Sophomore guard Mari Gerton made 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter to help the Vikings.
Gerton scored a team-high 25 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
"Bright, bright future," Davis said. "She stepped up in a tremendous way today. She didn't want to let her team down."
Princeton High School senior point guard Solè Williams, the Gatorade Ohio player of the year, added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. Fortson had nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
"I'm so, so proud of their effort and looking forward to the championship game tomorrow," Davis said.
Grafton Midview was led by junior guard Olivia DiFranco, who had a game-high 31 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Princeton is one of two Greater Cincinnati girls basketball teams playing for a state championship Saturday at UD Arena.
Purcell Marian (26-2) plays Canal Fulton Northwest (27-2) in the Division II state final at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.
Purcell Marian is playing for its second straight state championship after winning the Division III title in 2022. Purcell Marian has made three consecutive trips to the state Final Four.
