By PRESTON EDWARDS, Journal Sports
The Parkway Lady Panthers and a home quarterfinals game have been synonymous the past three seasons. In this year’s version, the Lady Panthers hosted District 1-5A foe Natchitoches Central. When Parkway coach Gloria Williams was asked about the third-time-around with the Lady Chiefs, she did not mince words.
“I hate it,” she said with a small chuckle. “It seems like we have had to play someone from our district the last four years. It is a testament to our district, however.”
The last time Parkway played a fellow 1-5A team in the quarters, the Lady Panthers ended up being defeated by Benton in a memorable playoff thriller two years ago.
Thursday night’s LHSAA Non-Select Division I quarterfinal was a little different, however. It just meant more. This quarterfinal between the two teams was the last one all-everything guard Mikaylah Williams and her senior classmates would play at Parkway High.
Williams said the game gave her a bittersweet feeling. That feeling did not appear to last too long as the Lady Panthers pummeled the Lady Chiefs of Natchitoches Central 58-24 before a packed crowd at Parkway’s gym (aka “The Cage”).
It was unsurprising since Parkway had pounded NCHS, the district runner-up, in both regular-season meetings. But in a playoff, as Benton proved two seasons ago, there are no guarantees.
Williams scored a game high of 19 (15 in the second half) as Parkway answered the bell early (and often), taking control almost immediately.
On the first possession of the game, Williams whipped a 35-foot baseball pass to Ty’Lisa Henderson for an uncontested layup. From that moment on, Parkway seemed to get any shot it wanted.
While Natchitoches Central took a brief 3-2 lead following a 3-pointer by sophomore Akeelah Wade, Parkway kept up the offensive pressure. After an Ambree Williams layup, the first quarter belonged to Mekanna Miles.
The Lady Chiefs’ box-and-1 on sharpshooter Chloe Larry did not rotate to the corners and that is where Miles made them pay. Her 11 first-quarter points included three straight 3-point shots that pushed the Parkway lead to 13 (19-6) at the end of one.
The Lady Panthers’ defense was the co-star of the night as they gathered every defensive rebound while causing the Lady Chiefs to throw the ball away or dribble the ball off of their feet in the first half. Coach Williams expressed that strategy was part of their gameplan.
“Our goal was to hold them to one shot and to rebound,” she said postgame. Needless to say, that strategy paid dividends all night. Along with the defensive rebounding, Parkway also garnered 15 offensive rebounds.
After halftime, it appeared that Natchitoches Central was content on trading shots on the offensive end while changing defenses on the other. The changing defenses, however, allowed Mikaylah Williams to settle in and score 11 points in the third. By the end of the quarter, the game was pretty much out of reach.
Williams (19), Miles (17), and Larry (13) scored in double figures for the Lady Panthers while Akeelah Wade had a team-high 11 for the Lady Chiefs.
Parkway (28-5) will move on to face third-seeded Barbe next week at Marsh Madness in Hammond. The date and time of the semifinal will be determined this weekend by the LHSAA.
Natchitoches Central finished the season with a record of 24-10 and another deep playoff run from one of the state’s traditionally-tough girls’ basketball programs.
Contact Preston at preston9360@gmail.com or Twitter handle @peedee1906