DAYTON, Ohio — Purcell Marian became just the fourth Ohio girls basketball team to win four consecutive state championships after a 72-44 win over Avon Lake in the Division III state final Friday afternoon at University of Dayton Arena.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced 2,237 were in attendance for the opening game of seven state finals during the 50th annual girls basketball state tournament.
"You could probably hold this mic in front of my face for 30 minutes and I could talk about these girls," Purcell Marian girls basketball coach Jamar Mosley said. "I'm just so proud of them and glad they were able to go out on top the way they did."
Hear more from Mosley in the video below:
Purcell Marian (23-6), ranked No. 15 in Ohio by MaxPreps,completes its special journey with a 106-10 record the past four seasons. Purcell Marian won 11 consecutive games to complete this season.
Purcell Marian has six seniors who earned four state championships including Dee Alexander, Cy'Aira Miller, Ky'Aira Miller, Trinity Small, Jaylah Winters and Alexis McDonald.
"Glad to be able to go out like this with this group of seniors," Mosley said. "They've been phenomenal. Meant everything for our program. Everybody in our school community is going to miss them. I'm just glad they were able to go out the way they did. There's not many people that can say that they won four state championships. They never lost a postseason game. But, this group of seniors are a group that can say that."
Alexander, a three-time Ohio Ms. Basketball recipient and two-time Gatorade Ohio player of the year, completed her high school career with 27 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals on Friday afternoon.
Alexander completed her high school career with 2,375 points, which is No. 13 on the Ohio High School Athletic Association scoring list.
Small had 16 points including five 3-pointers. Ky'Aira Miller and sophomore Samaya Wilkins each had 11 points.
Purcell Marian won the 2024 and 2023 Division II state titles and the 2022 Division III state championship. Mount Notre Dame (2006-09), South Euclid Regina (2000-03) and Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown (2009-13) are the only other Ohio girls basketball programs to win four state championships.
Alexander predicted a fourth consecutive state title after the 2024 championship game.
“It’s very special; we all came in together as one,” Alexander said earlier this week. “And we all made a goal to each other like 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.”
Purcell Marian, which made its fifth consecutive state Final Four, is one of three Greater Cincinnati teams competing in the state finals this weekend in Dayton.
Winton Woods (26-0) plays Whitehouse Anthony Wayne (24-2) in the Division II state final at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Winton Woods is seeking its first girls basketball state championship in program history.
Princeton (21-6) plays Pickerington Central (24-3) in the Division I state final at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Princeton is seeking its fourth girls basketball state championship in program history.
