Princeton girls basketball wins 1st regional title since 2014. Here's how they did it.

WEST CHESTER, Ohio − After a nine-year wait, Princeton girls basketball is back in the state Final Four.

The Vikings punched their ticket to UD Arena Saturday night by capturing a Division I regional championship with a 65-53 victory over Kings at Lakota West High School.

Princeton will face Grafton Midview in the Division I state semifinals Friday night.

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3 keys to Princeton's win over Kings

• Princeton opened up the game with a pair of 5-0 runs and led 10-5 midway through the first quarter. That early advantage was crucial as Kings would go on a 3-point shooting barrage to end the frame, taking a 19-17 lead in the final seconds.

• The second and third quarters proved pivotal as Princeton had runs in each. A 9-0 spurt to open the second quarter was punctuated by a three-point play from guard Solè Williams and gave the Vikings a 26-19 lead. Princeton ended the third quarter on a 12-4, giving them a comfortable double-digit lead for the remainder of the night.

• With Kings in desperation mode, Princeton never slowed down, scoring 20 fourth-quarter points. The Vikings didn't let the Knights back in the game by missing free throws either, sinking 15-of-22 from the charity stripe. Defensively, Princeton held Kings to a 2-of-7 performance from downtown in the second half after the Knights hit 5 triples in the first half.

Key performers

Solè Williams: The Louisville commit and the Southwest District's Division I Player of the Year scored a team-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Princeton second-year head coach Dee Davis said Williams is playing with a "chip on her shoulder" after not being named a finalist for the Ms. Ohio Basketball Award.

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Kassie Ingram: The Kings' junior led all scorers with 25 points. Ingram hit three 3-pointers over the final 90 seconds of the first quarter to give the Knights a 19-17 lead.

Dede Carter-Hartley: One of four Vikings to score in double figures (12), Carter-Hartley pulled down a team-high 7 rebounds.

La'Sonja Hill: Hill had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with 3 steals.

Mari Gerton: Gerton had 14 points, 6 rebounds and was 5-of-6 at the free-throw line.

History lesson

Princeton is back in the state Final Four for the third time in program history. The previous two trips ended in state hardware for the Vikings. In 1987, Jerry Stein's Princeton club won the Class AAA title. In 2014, Princeton was coached by Jill Phillips and ran the table in Division I behind Ms. Ohio Basketball Kelsey Mitchell.

Senior sendoff

Kings made its first regional finals appearance after beating three consecutive higher-seeded teams, including two ranked top 10 in the state (West Clermont, Lakota East). The Knights finish the season 22-6.

Kings' seniors were Abby Rawlings, Madi Barnett, Riley Wells and Anita Benaglia. Rawlings and Barnett were each honorable mention all-district selections. Rawlings led the ECC in assists while Barnett averaged 9.2 points per game. Wells averaged 7.3 points and was Kings' leading rebounder (6.3).

Rawlings finished with 3 points and 4 assists. Barnett had 12 points, connecting twice from deep. Wells finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here's how Princeton girls basketball beat Kings for regional title