COLUMBUS, Ohio — Purcell Marian High School junior wing Dee Alexander was named Wednesday afternoon as an Ohio Ms. Basketball finalist for a second straight season.
Alexander, the 2023 Ohio Ms. Basketball recipient, is one of eight finalists for the prestigious award given annually to the state's top girls basketball player.
Springboro junior Bryn Martin, the Southwest District Division I district player of the year, is also a finalist.
The other finalists include Whitehouse Anthony Wayne junior Elise Bender, Bloom-Carroll senior Emily Bratton, Shaker Heights Laurel sophomore Saniyah Hall, Berlin Hiland senior Ashley Mullet, Loudonville senior Corri Vermilya and Pickerington Central senior Berry Wallace.
The Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association will vote on the award with the winner being announced March 13.
Alexander, the Southwest District Division II player of the year, averages 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.6 steals. Alexander, ranked the nation's No. 4 player in the 2025 class by ESPN, helped USA Basketball's U16 Women's National Team to a gold medal in June 2023.
Alexander, who had 40-plus scholarship offers earlier this school year, has narrowed her college choices to 15 schools.
Those college programs include (in no particular order) Tennessee, University of Southern California, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Arizona, South Carolina, Iowa, Texas, Illinois, Louisiana State University, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
Alexander scored 18 points and had 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and a block in Purcell Marian's 77-43 win over Bloom-Carroll in a regional semifinal Tuesday night in Springfield.
"Dee's game to game performances, leadership, consistency and versatility all make her deserving of Ms. Basketball," Purcell Marian girls basketball coach Jamar Mosley said. "Some of the things she's able to do on the court is hard to come by. Her hard work and dedication has elevated her game but has also elevated the entire team, making her a true Ms. Basketball in every sense."
Purcell Marian (26-1) plays Badin (20-7) in a Division III regional final at 7 p.m. Friday in Springfield. It is a rematch of the 2023 regional final that Purcell Marian won 64-54.
Purcell Marian, ranked No. 15 nationally by MaxPreps, has won 24 consecutive games.
Purcell Marian, a reigning two-time state champion, is trying to make a fourth consecutive trip to the state Final Four. Purcell Marian won the 2023 Division II state title, 2022 Division III state title and was a 2021 Division III state semifinalist.
There have been 15 teams in state history with four consecutive trips to a state Final Four.
Entering this year's state tournament, 20 schools have won at least three girls basketball state titles overall. Purcell Marian is trying to become the sixth girls basketball team in state history to win three consecutive state titles.
Alexander, who has 1,825 points in her high school career, is trying to become the fourth consecutive Ohio Ms. Basketball recipient.
Mount Notre Dame's KK Bransford, now at sophomore guard at the University of Notre Dame, won the award in 2021 and 2022. The statewide award started in 1988.
The OPSWA All-Ohio teams will be released starting March 25.
