By BYRON BEERS

Led by senior guard trio Shauna (Bailey) Calvert, Courtney (Larremore) Parker and Brynn (Scalf) Gialouis — also known as the “Three Musketeers” — Pryor captured the program’s first and only state championship in 2003 under head coach Paul Pool.

The Tigers defeated Oologah, 59-42, in the Class 4A State Tournament championship game.

Bailey, Larremore and Scalf were each first team all-tournament picks and went on to share tournament MVP honors, while senior Kristen Carrick was chosen to the first team and junior Courtney Jordan was a second team selection.

“I don’t think any of us would have accepted it unless it was given to all three of us,” Bailey said of the MVP honors. “We played together nonstop since elementary age in order to prepare for that moment. Being named co-MVP with Brynn and Courtney was a huge honor and it made it much more meaningful.”

“There were three of us seniors who had played since third grade, so it was a fun way to end our high school careers,” Scalf said.

Bailey, who scored 21 points across the three state tournament games, remembers the team unity being a big part of the successful run to a title.

“We truly loved each player on our team and worked to build each other up,” Bailey said. “There wasn’t one player on the team more important than the next.”

During the regular season, Pryor went unbeaten in its brand new arena — The Burdick Center, defeated rival Claremore on senior night, and also defeated Oologah to claim the Pryor Invitational Tournament championship.

Bailey’s cousin, Kayley Alt, is a senior on this year’s team, which is coached by Donnie Martin.

Scalf, who averaged a team-high 16.3 points in the state tournament, was a three-time All-State selection in basketball, fastpitch softball and soccer. She went on to play softball at Seminole State College.

“The community support was amazing,” Scalf said. “The Burdick Center was typically packed and we had a great following to all of our playoff games.”

Larremore totaled 36 points in the tournament, and Carrick averaged 13.3 points.

Pool passed away in 2007 at age 62 of complications from leukemia. He won a pair of state championships and posted a 573-230 career record. He had 14 seasons of 20 wins or more and won his second state title at Depew in 2006.

“I respected [coach Pool] so much, as I know all of my teammates did as well,” Scalf said. “We had fun, but we also knew when it was time to get down to business. He respected us and always treated us well.”

It was Pryor’s ninth trip to a state tournament and its second consecutive appearance. Prior to the 2001-02 season, the Tigers hadn’t been to a state tournament since 1994.