AKRON, Ohio — The Archbishop Hoban girls' basketball team set out on a mission last year. After falling just short of a state title run in the regional finals game in 2025, the Knights made it their ultimate goal to get back to where they were—and then they went even further.
For the Knights, 2026 was all about hard work. Head coach Pam Davis can attest to what her girls dedicated themselves to.
"Last year we lost in the regional final by five points and from that point on it was a one mission, one goal type of scenario where they put countless hours in the gym shooting, getting in shape," Davis said.
For some, that kind of work could have felt daunting, but for the Knights, it became their identity.
"Our team is just so dedicated and we work so hard. We would go seven days a week sometimes and practice two-and-a-half hours. Our practices are harder than our games sometimes," said senior starting center Kathleen Jones.
That work saw results early this season. The Knights started the year winning 11 of their first 12 games. They were on a roll, and then the uncontrollables came.
"We started off the season, our coaches said we went from 'first to worst.' We had a [three] game losing streak in a row, and just knowing that we were able to come up from that streak is just knowing that we care about this team and we want to put in that," said senior point guard Zoey Hodge.
Davis said injuries were a big part of the results during their less-than-ideal stretch.
"We got injured and we went one-of-four, so we said that's the worst. And then we finally got everybody healthy and then we went on an 11-game win streak. So that was from first to worst back to first," Davis said with a chuckle.
While "worst to first" was more of a hyperbole, it encouraged the team. It lit a fire, and the Knights didn't lose another game. From the regional tournament to the state tournament and finally into the state championship game, the Knights moved through the postseason with ease.
As they took on Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame in the title game, they knew in the first half that they were about to reach that ultimate goal.
"This year, at one of our earlier season practices, we sat down as a team, and Coach Willie [Davis] asked us, he said, 'What is your guys' goal? Like, what do you think this team can do?' And I was like, 'I think we can win a state championship,'" said Jones. "We went into halftime [of the championship game] and normally Coach Pam is pretty serious during halftime, and we came in, and she was like 'That was a pretty first good half, pretty good first half,' so we were all looking at each other like 'Oh my gosh this is really happening.'"
On March 12, the Knights beat Mount Notre Dame 72-64 in the Ohio High School Athletic Association DII state title game, giving them their first state championship since 1988.
"That's crazy that it's been 38 years. I told the girls they weren't even thought of 38 years ago," Davis said.
The celebration on the court was a big one. The girls hugged and screamed, cried and cheered. For the seniors, it was four years' worth of work manifested; for the whole team, it was a program drought that finally ended.
"Not every team has [had] that chance to win a state championship, so it's awesome knowing that we were the ones that were able to accomplish it," Hodge said.
Now, even a few weeks after the win, celebrations haven't stopped. The Knights accomplished their ultimate goal and are going to keep reveling in it for as long as they can.
"It's so unbelievable," said senior guard Niera "Zig" Stevens while holding the trophy. "It's really still sinking into me right now, just knowing how much it took to actually own something like this. It's just such a great feeling to know that it took us four years to do this, and time is really precious. Every time I look at it, I want to cry because it's just so cute. It's the biggest trophy we've ever owned as a team, and it's really nice to have this piece of hardware."
