SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Princeton High School senior point guard Solè Williams was named Wednesday morning as the Gatorade Ohio High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
Williams was ecstatic upon learning of the news during her digital tech class in second bell Wednesday morning.
"I've been getting a lot of messages just congratulating me from a lot of people," Williams said. "Just telling me that my hard work has been paying off and just giving me good words and stuff. That's what I've been getting a lot lately."
Williams, a Texas A&M signee, averages 20.5 points, 3.7 steals, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Vikings (26-2), who play Grafton Midview (23-4) in a Division I state semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday at University of Dayton Arena.
Williams scored a team-high 22 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists in the regional final March 4. Princeton has won 15 consecutive games entering the state Final Four.
"There is no kid that I have seen work harder," Princeton coach Dee Davis said Tuesday. "That's why it hurts my feelings a lot to know that this kid was not respected enough to be a finalist for the Ms. Basketball opportunity. Because I have seen this young lady put a team on her back for two years straight. And she's faced the most box-and-1 (defense), zones, traps, everything and still managed to score 20-plus points and help her team be successful and win."
Princeton, which is trying for its first state girls basketball title since 2014, is ranked No. 24 nationally by MaxPrepsthis week.
Williams said during the regional tournament she is willing to do anything to help her team win a state title. That team goal is the ultimate prize this season for the program, school and community.
"It would mean a lot to everyone really," Williams said Tuesday. "We have a lot of fans coming out to support us. We haven't won a state championship since 2014 so it would rekindle those feelings and emotions. So that's what we are really looking for and we want. So we are very hungry to get that."
Williams, the daughter of former University of Cincinnati basketball player Orlando Williams, said the game of basketball means so much to her.
Orlando Williams, a 1987 Princeton graduate who played at UC from 1988-1991, said he is very proud of Solè on and off the court.
"She has a tremendous work ethic," Orlando Williams said. "This gym is her sanctuary."
Solè has worked out in the gym at 5 a.m., before school many times. She is thankful for how her father has guided her in basketball.
"It doesn't matter honestly what day it is," Williams said. "It could be Christmas or Thanksgiving - we're still going to be in the gym. I have time where I take days off obviously. But, the majority of the time I'm trying to work, work, work because I feel like and I know that there is other people out there working hard to get where I'm at or even better."
The Gatorade award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Williams as Ohio’s best high school girls basketball player.
"We're very appreciative of it," Davis said Wednesday morning. "It's well deserved. This young lady has worked tirelessly on her craft. She has put in the time; she has put in the work. She plays in a very tough conference. She has played against national opponents. So night in and night out she has proven herself."
Williams joins an elite alumni association of state award-winners in 12 sports, including Kiki Rice (2021-22, Sidwell Friends School, Washington, D.C.), Paige Bueckers (2019-20, Hopkins High School, Minn.), Nneka Ogwumike (2007-08, CyFair High School, Texas), and Candace Parker (2003-04 & 2002-03, Naperville Central High School, Ill.).
Williams has volunteered locally as an elementary school aide and as a youth basketball coach.
Solè is a bona fide superstar,” Oak Hills coach Chris Gramke said in a statement. “She is one of the best players I’ve ever seen play or had to prepare for. Nobody is unstoppable, but this young lady is close. She’s a game-changer.”
Williams has maintained a weighted 3.38 grade-point average in the classroom.
Williams joins recent Gatorade Ohio Girls Basketball Players of the Year Chance Gray (2021-22, Winton Woods High School), KK Bransford (2020-21, Mount Notre Dame High School), Madeline Westbeld (2019-20, Kettering Fairmont High School), and Jordan Horston (2018-19, Columbus Africentric Early College High School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
