The high school basketball arena still echoes with the sounds of one unforgettable night in 1982.

Number #22 was Sarah Palin, but back then her name was Sarah Heath.  She was  captain of the Wasilla High School girls' basketball team.  But she was also known by another name: Sarah Barracuda.

Wasilla basketball coach Roger Nelles remembers 18-year-old Sarah as the star point guard.  "The name probably fit her because of that intensity.  She led by example. She's diving on the floor, she's playing tough defense against their main offensive player," he told INSIDE EDITION.

Hollywood couldn't have written a more dramatic script for Sarah Barracuda than her final basketball game.  It was a David-and-Goliath match-up, with Wasilla the underdogs.  The state championship was on the line, and Sarah was suffering from a fractured ankle.

"You've got to discipline yourself, you've got to push yourself to the max, so I think she showed that mental toughness," Nelles said.

She played through the pain.  The Warriors were leading in the dying seconds, but their opponents were fighting back.  Sarah was fouled.

She had the chance to clinch the game, and the state championship.

"Sarah Heath goes to the free throw line...the Warriors are ten seconds away from the 1982 state championship!"

Coolly, she made the throw.

"Sarah's shot is in there!  Sarah just aced the game for the Wasilla Warriors!"

And seconds later, it was official.  They'd won the 1982 state championship!

The championship ball is still proudly displayed at the high school, bearing Sarah's signature from 26 years ago.

Her father remembers Sarah's decision to play despite her injury.

"The doctor said, 'Yeah, you've got a bad sprain,' so we immobilized [her ankle] and he said, 'It's up to her,' so we let her play," says Chuck Heath.  "Afterwards we found out it was a stress fracture."

It was a defining moment for Sarah, who showed when still a teenager she could handle intense pressure in the spotlight.