For the third consecutive year, the Ms. Ohio Basketball comes from Greater Cincinnati.
Purcell Marian sophomore Dee Alexander is this year's winner, as announced by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association on Wednesday. She is only the second sophomore to be named Ms. Ohio Basketball, joining Canton McKinley's Kierstan Bell (2017).
"Being born and raised in Ohio and having my name next to other greats who have won this award is a great honor. My family has seen every step of my basketball journey, and I know they are so proud of me," Alexander said in a press release. "Knowing that I have them and the Purcell Marian community around me to support me on my journey this far means a lot."
Alexander has put together an impressive two-year prep resume. This season, the 6-foot-1 forward is averaging 25.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Alexander had 28 points (including 24 in the second half), 13 rebounds and 6 assists in Purcell Marian's 64-54 victory over Badin in the Division II regional championship game. The victory sent Purcell Marian to the state Final Four for the third consecutive year.
More:'She's just an amazing talent:' Dee Alexander leads Purcell Marian into state title run
Alexander was also named the Southwest District's Division II Player of the Year in February.
More:Who made Ohio's Southwest District girls basketball all-star teams?
“She’s just an amazing talent,” Purcell Marian head coach Jamar Mosley told The Enquirer last month. “I think that’s the best thing. She has leadership. She takes criticism, whether from a player, whether it's from a coach, and she just runs with it. We try to get up and down and try to speed people up.”
Last season as a freshman, Alexander was Ohio's Division III Player of the Year and the Southwest District's Division III Player of the Year after averaging 24.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. She helped lead Purcell Marian to a 27-1 record and a Division III state championship, the first in program history.
Alexander set the Purcell Marian single-game scoring record with 49 points in a 75-50 victory over McNicholas on Jan. 3, 2022 and was named to MaxPreps' All-America freshman team.
In two seasons, Alexander is already over 1,300 career high school sports and is closing in on 600 career rebounds. She's recorded a double-double in 36 of 52 career games. If she keeps the same scoring pace over her final two years, Alexander would climb near the Top 5 in all-time points in Ohio High School Athletic Association.
According to ESPN's HoopGurlz rankings, Alexander is a Top 5 recruit in the nation for the Class of 2025 and already has 30 Division I offers.
Alexander and the Cavaliers moved up to Division II this season and are looking for another state championship. Purcell Marian faces Bryan in the Division II state semifinals on Thursday morning at UD Arena. Alexander will be presented with the award at halftime of the second Division II state semifinal (Canal Fulton Northwest vs. Proctorville Fairland) on Thursday afternoon at UD Arena, according to OHSAA Director of Media Relations Tim Stried.
All-time Greater Cincinnati Ms. Ohio Basketball winners
Alexander is the third consecutive Ms. Ohio Basketball from Cincinnati after Mount Notre Dame's K.K. Bransford (Notre Dame) went back-to-back the last two years.
2021-2022: K.K. Bransford, Mount Notre Dame
2014: Kelsey Mitchell, Princeton
2009: Kendall Hackney, Mount Notre Dame
2008: Amber Gray, Lakota West
2004: Mel Thomas, Mount Notre Dame
2000-2001: Michelle Munoz, Mason
1989: Carol Madsen, Reading
1988: Janet Haneberg, Seton
