OKLAHOMA CITY - For the first time in any of their careers, members of Calumet High School's girls basketball team got to play in the fabled “Big House.
“I've always heard of my dad playing there, and it has been my dream since I was a little kid. It was pretty awesome to get to play there, but it was just a bigger gym with a louder atmosphere, we adjusted well and played our game,“ junior Mariah Miles said.
“Our game” was the quarterfinals of the 2010 Class A State Championships and the top-ranked Chieftains outdueled No. 11 Fort Cobb-Broxton for a 42-34 win.
Megan Snyder drew first blood for the Chieftains, hitting a 3-point bucket to start the game, followed by back-to-back treys by Emily Eaton. Calumet would take a 15-8 lead into the second quarter of play.
The Mustangs closed that gap to five points, before Calumet got a Katelyn Richardson 3-pointer with 3:11 left in the half. Richardson, Snyder and Morgan Renbarger each added a basket as CHS took a 26-19 halftime lead.
Eaton led with nine points at the break, followed by seven points from Snyder and seven from Richardson.
Fort Cobb would close the gap in the third quarter to a basket, 29-27, with 4:37 left in the frame. However, the teams traded six turnovers for the next three-plus minutes until Richardson hit a basket with 57 seconds left to give CHS a 31-27 lead.
The Mustangs would take their first lead of the game with four minutes left, 32-31. Eaton made a layup to regain the lead, before Fort Cobb scored again to put them up by one.
It would be the last time the Mustangs would lead, however, as Miles scored three straight points to give Calumet a 37-34 lead. A Snyder jumper and an Eaton free throw gave Calumet a seven-point lead before a Richardson steal led to the game's final bucket. Calumet scored the final nine points of the game.
Eaton finished the game with 12 points, while Richardson added 12 and Megan Snyder posted nine. Miles scored five points, while Renbarger had four points..
“We didn't play our best, but we grinded it out at the end, and we're one step closer to goal, which is to win the gold ball,” said Eaton.

NOTE: Calumet lost 60-50 to Chattanooga in the semifinals.