The Pickerington Central girls basketball team led Cincinnati Princeton 23-17 at the end of the first half of their OHSAA Division I state final at University of Dayton Arena Saturday despite the fact that five Tigers had two fouls before the break.

Both teams played tough defense in the first half. Princeton’s full court pressure caused Pickerington Central to commit 11 turnovers while the Tiger’s half-court intensity allowed Vikings’ star Mari Gerton only three points in the first two quarters.

Princeton kept up the pressure and took their first lead of the game when Kali Fortson hit a three-pointer as time ran out in the third quarter. The Vikings added three more on a Fortson and-1 to open the fourth for a six-point lead, for what would be their biggest margin of the night.

The Tigers responded and retook the lead with treys from London Johnson and Zoe Coleman, and held on for a 47-44 win. It was the eighth state title for Pickerington/Pickerington Central high schools, the second for Central after it came into existence when Pickerington split in 2003.

The Tigers previous championship was in 2018 under current head coach Johnathan Hedgepeth. That was before Hedgepeth stepped down, coached at Canal Winchester, and returned this season. Central finished the season with a record of 25-3.