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.

Avon Lake guard Olivia Tobin isn’t the biggest or the most athletic player. She has her own approach. “It’s brain over brawn and work smarter, not harder,” Tobin said. Avon Lake entered this

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

Three-time Ms. Basketball winner Dee Alexander finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead Purcell Marian to its fourth straight state championship.

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 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.