- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,170,906
- Reaction score
- 59
DAYTON, OH – Life is a game of inches.
Those inches appear in the most joyous moments for some, and at the cruelest times for others.
For the second straight year, the Princeton Vikings were inches, and a few tenths of a seconds, away from winning the Division I state championship, falling to Fairmont, 61-55, in overtime.
The loss, combined with Mount Notre Dame's loss earlier in the evening, means Cincinnati did not win a girls basketball state championship for the first time since 2018.
"It's disappointing to come here back-to-back and leave empty-handed. I'm just disappointed we didn't take the win today, but I'm proud of our team for how hard we fought throughout the whole season and today," Princeton junior Kiara Harris said.
After making a furious comeback throughout the third and fourth quarters, Erin Thomas, who had a shot to tie the 2025 DI championship game, made two free throws for a 49-45 lead with 14 seconds left.
Janiyah Hargrave brought the Firebirds back within two with a baseline jumper. Heaven Sneed went to the free throw line with 6.3 seconds, but only made one of her two shots.
Fairmont's Ms. Basketball candidate Kaylah Thornton, who hadn't made a field goal since the 7:37 mark of the second quarter, took five dribbles to get across half court while being guarded by Sneed and drained a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
"I'll take full accountability for that. We should have fouled Kaylah so she didn't get a look at the three. She made a great shot. In most cases, people don't necessarily make that, but in high-octane games, that's what a championship game will be. We were hoping on a good possession of defense," Princeton head coach Dee Davis said.
"I just knew I needed to go down the court and get a bucket, and that's what I did," Thornton said with an extra-wide smile.
On Feb. 2, Princeton trailed Fairmont, 16-15, at the end of the first quarter. That deficit grew to seven by halftime. The key to beating the Firebirds, which 18 teams had tried and failed to do this season, was to not have a bad quarter.
Princeton did have a bad eight-minute stretch on Saturday night, but got it out of the way early. After the first quarter, the Vikings trailed 18-7 thanks to 3-of-13 shooting from the field, including a handful of missed short-range jumpers, and four turnovers. Thornton also scored 11 of her 19 points in the period.
In the first half, the Vikings switched between a two-three zone and man-to-man defense with varying degrees of success.
After Thornton gave the Firebirds a 20-7 lead to start the fourth quarter, Sneed kickstarted a 12-5 scoring run to end the half. Thomas had the final bucket of the half, an NBA-range pull-up triple at the 1:52 mark.
"Just reminding them to defend, just continue to compete, work hard, give everything you've got," Davis said. "Every timeout, everything, we were reiterating what needed to happen. But our kids, they rose to the occasion. They competed; they did the best they could."
Hargrave, who scored a game-high 23 points, scored three right out of halftime as Fairmont took a 30-19 lead. Thomas scored Princeton's first points of the second half at the 4:21 mark, an and-one that triggered a 12-4 run to end the quarter.
Harris, who finished with a season-high 18 points, had her own and-one in the third quarter. Her elbow jumper to start the fourth quarter brought Princeton within 2 points at 35-33.
"I was just doing it for Princeton. Coach wrote on the board, 'Do it for the P.' I was trying to represent us, I was doing it for everybody," Harris said.
After a free throw from Nico Cornett, junior Simon Smith gave the Vikings their first lead since the 6:43 mark of the first quarter with her corner 3-pointer. On the next possession, Thomas converted yet another 3-point play as Princeton took a 43-36 lead.
"They're a super team. I mean, they're here for a reason. They were here last year. Dee does a super job coaching those girls up. We knew it was gonna come sooner or later," Fairmont head coach Jeremy Finn said.
Despite starting the fourth quarter 2-for-6 from the charity stripe, the Firebirds got free throws from Hargrave and Nico Cornett before layups from Hargrave and Payton Adams brought them within 2 points at 49-47.
Hargrave, a sophomore sensation, kicked it into overdrive in overtime, scoring Fairmont's first 7 points before Cornett closed it out at the free-throw line.
"I just needed to score. That's all I could think of is score and get to the rim," Hargrave said.
The Vikings graduate just two seniors in Sneed and Jordan Champion.
While Mari Gerton gave them a volume scoring guard from 2023 to 2025, Sneed moved into the lead guard role this season. She was never a score-first player, leading the team with 2.7 assists per game. On defense, she often cut her opposition off at the point of attack, providing a barrier to entry into the paint.
Champion appeared in 25 games this season, averaging 2.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
Fairmont: Hargrave 9 4 23, Thornton 6 3 19, Cornett 2 8 13, Adams 2 0 4, Buskard 1 0 2. Totals: 20 15 61.
Princeton: Thomas 5 8 19, Harris 6 6 18, Lowe 4 2 10, Sneed 1 1 3, Smith 1 0 3, Love0Muhammad 0 2 2. Totals: 17 19 55
Half: F 25-19. 3-pointers: F 6 (Thornton 4, Hargrave, Cornett); P 2 (Thomas, Smith)
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Princeton girls basketball falls to Fairmont in DI state championship
Continue reading...
Those inches appear in the most joyous moments for some, and at the cruelest times for others.
For the second straight year, the Princeton Vikings were inches, and a few tenths of a seconds, away from winning the Division I state championship, falling to Fairmont, 61-55, in overtime.
The loss, combined with Mount Notre Dame's loss earlier in the evening, means Cincinnati did not win a girls basketball state championship for the first time since 2018.
"It's disappointing to come here back-to-back and leave empty-handed. I'm just disappointed we didn't take the win today, but I'm proud of our team for how hard we fought throughout the whole season and today," Princeton junior Kiara Harris said.
You must be registered for see images
After making a furious comeback throughout the third and fourth quarters, Erin Thomas, who had a shot to tie the 2025 DI championship game, made two free throws for a 49-45 lead with 14 seconds left.
Janiyah Hargrave brought the Firebirds back within two with a baseline jumper. Heaven Sneed went to the free throw line with 6.3 seconds, but only made one of her two shots.
Fairmont's Ms. Basketball candidate Kaylah Thornton, who hadn't made a field goal since the 7:37 mark of the second quarter, took five dribbles to get across half court while being guarded by Sneed and drained a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
"I'll take full accountability for that. We should have fouled Kaylah so she didn't get a look at the three. She made a great shot. In most cases, people don't necessarily make that, but in high-octane games, that's what a championship game will be. We were hoping on a good possession of defense," Princeton head coach Dee Davis said.
"I just knew I needed to go down the court and get a bucket, and that's what I did," Thornton said with an extra-wide smile.
Princeton girls basketball's state-final rally falls just short
On Feb. 2, Princeton trailed Fairmont, 16-15, at the end of the first quarter. That deficit grew to seven by halftime. The key to beating the Firebirds, which 18 teams had tried and failed to do this season, was to not have a bad quarter.
Princeton did have a bad eight-minute stretch on Saturday night, but got it out of the way early. After the first quarter, the Vikings trailed 18-7 thanks to 3-of-13 shooting from the field, including a handful of missed short-range jumpers, and four turnovers. Thornton also scored 11 of her 19 points in the period.
In the first half, the Vikings switched between a two-three zone and man-to-man defense with varying degrees of success.
After Thornton gave the Firebirds a 20-7 lead to start the fourth quarter, Sneed kickstarted a 12-5 scoring run to end the half. Thomas had the final bucket of the half, an NBA-range pull-up triple at the 1:52 mark.
"Just reminding them to defend, just continue to compete, work hard, give everything you've got," Davis said. "Every timeout, everything, we were reiterating what needed to happen. But our kids, they rose to the occasion. They competed; they did the best they could."
You must be registered for see images
Hargrave, who scored a game-high 23 points, scored three right out of halftime as Fairmont took a 30-19 lead. Thomas scored Princeton's first points of the second half at the 4:21 mark, an and-one that triggered a 12-4 run to end the quarter.
Harris, who finished with a season-high 18 points, had her own and-one in the third quarter. Her elbow jumper to start the fourth quarter brought Princeton within 2 points at 35-33.
"I was just doing it for Princeton. Coach wrote on the board, 'Do it for the P.' I was trying to represent us, I was doing it for everybody," Harris said.
After a free throw from Nico Cornett, junior Simon Smith gave the Vikings their first lead since the 6:43 mark of the first quarter with her corner 3-pointer. On the next possession, Thomas converted yet another 3-point play as Princeton took a 43-36 lead.
You must be registered for see images
"They're a super team. I mean, they're here for a reason. They were here last year. Dee does a super job coaching those girls up. We knew it was gonna come sooner or later," Fairmont head coach Jeremy Finn said.
Despite starting the fourth quarter 2-for-6 from the charity stripe, the Firebirds got free throws from Hargrave and Nico Cornett before layups from Hargrave and Payton Adams brought them within 2 points at 49-47.
Hargrave, a sophomore sensation, kicked it into overdrive in overtime, scoring Fairmont's first 7 points before Cornett closed it out at the free-throw line.
"I just needed to score. That's all I could think of is score and get to the rim," Hargrave said.
Princeton girls basketball is set up to return to the 2027 state tournament
The Vikings graduate just two seniors in Sneed and Jordan Champion.
While Mari Gerton gave them a volume scoring guard from 2023 to 2025, Sneed moved into the lead guard role this season. She was never a score-first player, leading the team with 2.7 assists per game. On defense, she often cut her opposition off at the point of attack, providing a barrier to entry into the paint.
You must be registered for see images attach
Champion appeared in 25 games this season, averaging 2.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
Fairmont: Hargrave 9 4 23, Thornton 6 3 19, Cornett 2 8 13, Adams 2 0 4, Buskard 1 0 2. Totals: 20 15 61.
Princeton: Thomas 5 8 19, Harris 6 6 18, Lowe 4 2 10, Sneed 1 1 3, Smith 1 0 3, Love0Muhammad 0 2 2. Totals: 17 19 55
Half: F 25-19. 3-pointers: F 6 (Thornton 4, Hargrave, Cornett); P 2 (Thomas, Smith)
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Princeton girls basketball falls to Fairmont in DI state championship
Continue reading...
