Here's how Princeton rallied past Midview to reach the Division I state championship game

DAYTON, Ohio − The Princeton girls basketball team is one victory away from the program's third career state championship.

Princeton, making its first state Final Four appearance since 2014, rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit Friday night to beat Midview, 61-57, in the Division I state semifinals at UD Arena.

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Princeton, winners of 16 straight games and No. 3 in the final Associated Press high school basketball poll, will play either Pickerington Central or Olmsted Falls in the Division I state championship game Saturday night at UD.

3 keys to Princeton's state semifinal victory

• Princeton dug itself an early hole with a poor shooting performance in the first half. Over the first two quarters, the Vikings were just 8-of-33 (24.2%) from the field and were 0-of-5 from the perimeter. Midview ended the second quarter on a 13-2 run spearheaded by junior guard Olivia DiFranco, who led all scorers with 31 points.

• Princeton's second-half run didn't start until Midview took its largest lead of the game at 42-32 with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter. The Vikings leaned on their guard play with Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year Sole Williams (Texas A&M signee) and sophomore guard Mari Gerton combining for 44 points on 14-of-32 shooting.

• From the 3:20 mark in the third quarter to the 5:24 mark of the fourth, Princeton went on a 16-3 run with key buckets from Williams, Gerton, La'Sonja Hill and Diawna Carter-Hartley. In the second half, Princeton's defense forced 8 turnovers and held Midview to just 1-of-7 from the perimeter. At the free-throw line, Midview went just 4-of-9 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter while Princeton iced the game with a 9-of-12 performance from the charity stripe.

Key performers

Mari Gerton: The Princeton sophomore came into the night averaging 12.4 points per game. She finished with a team-high 25 points, her highest-scoring performance since going for 28 in a Dec. 17 win over Colerain. Gerton added 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Sole Williams: Williams scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half after going just 2-of-11 from the field in the first half. The senior's coast-to-coast lay-up with 6:12 remaining gave Princeton a 46-45 advantage, the Vikings' first lead since the 5:49 mark in the second quarter. Williams had 6 rebounds and 6 assists and made Princeton's lone 3-pointer.

Olivia DiFranco: The junior guard led all scorers with 31 points and had a team-high 11 rebounds. She scored 19 of Midview's 28 points in the second half.

Mary Meng: Midview's 6-foot-5 center, Meng finished one rebound away from a triple-double with 12 points, 10 blocks and 9 boards. The Bowling Green commit picked up her third foul with under a minute remaining in the first half and her fourth foul with 57.7 seconds left in the third.

Kali Fortson: Princeton's sophomore forward was matched up with Meng for the majority of the night. Fortson had 9 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Fortson's and-1 with 2:21 remaining gave Princeton the lead for the remainder of regulation.

Diawna Carter-Hartley: The Princeton senior had 8 rebounds and 4 points.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Princeton rallies past Midview to reach DI state championship game