OAK HILL — The past four seasons, Princeton’s girls basketball team had the reputation of being the area’s comeback kids.

No matter how far down the Tigers got, they always seemed to be in the game at the end.

If their last two games are any indication, nothing has changed.

Princeton trailed by seven points much of the night, yet rallied to defeat Woodrow Wilson 50-43 Monday night in the championship game of the Class AAA Region 3, Section 2 tournament at the Jim Lilly Center.

Last Wednesday the Tigers trailed Nicholas County by as many as 13 points, only to ride the hot shooting of freshman MacKenzie Akers to a 50-47 victory.

“When it comes down to crunch time, she’s a competitor,” Princeton assistant coach Skip Ball said. “The offense isn’t set around her, but she’s our best scorer. She’s going to have her looks at the goal.”

Akers, who had sunk a late three-pointer to beat Nicholas, pulled her magic once more against Woodrow. She scored 12 of her game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, including seven foul shots in the final 1:29.

The Tigers had trailed by six, 38-32 on a three-pointer by Woodrow senior guard Haley Snyder, at the 7:01 mark.

Woodrow (10-10) had taken nominal control of the game late in the first quarter. The quick Flying Eagles ran off six consecutive points to lead 15-10 and maintained their advantage throughout the middle periods.

The Flying Eagles went cold from the floor in the fourth quarter, however, and weren’t helped by a couple of slowdowns.

“I had some foul trouble and when they held the ball, we got to rest our people,” Ball said. “They were doing us a favor.”

Princeton tied the count at 39 and 41 and then took the lead on a drive by Krystal White, a senior guard and the team’s most experienced player, with 2:15 left to play.

Woodrow misfired on its next possession, and would miss six more shots down the stretch.

“We shot 15 percent from the field in the second half,” coach Bernie Bostick said. “We had a lot of looks under the basket and missed them.”

The Flying Eagles’ final points were two foul shots by Olivia Moore with 41.2 remaining.

“We have times when we don’t finish strong, and tonight was one of them,” Bostick said.

Akers hit 7 of 8 free throws and also grabbed three key defensive rebounds following White’s basket.

She finished with seven rebounds in addition to her 24 points.

“Akers is looking like the best point guard in the state as a freshman,” Bostick said. “You know the ball is going to be in her hands, and if you foul her, she’s going to make her free throws.”

White scored 12 points while center Cheyanne Walker had 13 rebounds.

Snyder led Woodrow with 15 points. Moore scored 13 and Monique Rhodes had 13 boards.

Center Ashley Chipps, who had dominated the Tigers in past games, had a poor shooting night and finished with seven points and 17 rebounds.

Both teams remain alive in regional play Thursday night. Woodrow travels to Section 1 champion Parkersburg South while Princeton hosts Section 1 runner-up Ripley.

Head coach Debbie Ball will be back at Princeton’s helm for that game. She was under a one-game suspension by the Mercer County board of education for defying orders not to travel to Oak Hill last Wednesday for the Nicholas game.

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Princeton 50, Woodrow Wilson 43

Woodrow Wilson (10-10)

Olivia Moore 4-14 5-6 13, Shaitice Trigg 0-4 0-0 0, Haley Snyder 5-19 1-2 15, Alexis Allen 1-7 0-1 3, Monique Rhodes 2-9 0-1 4, Dawnshay Heath 0-5 1-2 1, Ashley Chipps 2-17 3-4 7. Totals: 14-75 10-17 43.

Princeton (10-12)

MacKenzie Akers 5-19 14-17 24, Krystle White 4-7 4-4 12, Hanna Preservati 3-7 0-0 6, Brittany Lankford 0-1 0-0 0, Cheyanne Walker 3-9 0-0 6, MaryBeth Miller 1-6 0-4 2, Kendria Perkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-49 18-25 50.

WW    15    7    13    8    —    43

P    10    8    12    20    —    50

Three-point goals: WW: 5 (Snyder 4, Allen 1); P: None; Fouled out: None.