Perhaps the most dominant stretch in OHSAA basketball history closed its final chapter Friday. Senior forward Dee Alexander had 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Cincinnati Purcell Marian Cavaliers took down the Avon Lake Shoregals,

Cincinnati Marian Purcell was 32 minutes away from winning a fourth state championship, and Avon Lake was the only team that stood in its way March 14.

The Cavaliers are just the fourth team in Ohio High School Athletic Association history to win four consecutive titles.

The Avon Lake Shoregals have strung together a few stalwart defensive performances in matchups against some of the best teams in Northeast Ohio and it has brought them to their first OHSAA girls basketball championship appearance in 31 years.

Purcell Marian jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never led by less than five points the rest of the way, beating Avon Lake, 72-44, to capture the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III state championship on Friday at University of Dayton Arena. Purcell Marian finished the season with a 23-6 record. Avon Lake also finished 23-6.

Purcell Marian defeated Avon Lake to win the Division III state championship. It is Purcell Marian's fourth consecutive state championship.

AVON LAKE, Ohio — The old saying in sports, ‘It’s hard to beat a good team twice,’ holds true for the Avon Lake Shoregals girls basketball team, especially in their recent playoff run. Avon Lake head coach Paul Appel, knowing his team had the talent and scheme to make a deep run, wanted to make sure they were battle tested in the regular season.