By WILLIAM WEATHERS, Journal Sports
HAMMOND – In the most desperate moment Thursday night, the only directive soft-spoken Parkway senior Chloe Larry had for her teammates was straight-forward.
“I said, ‘get me the ball’,” she recalled in the aftermath of the shot of her life.
Top-seeded Walker went to the foul line with 4.2 seconds remaining and an opportunity to extend a two-point edge in overtime, but leading scorer RayOnna Sterling missed both of her attempts. The first failure gave Parkway a chance to at least tie, and Larry told her teammates she wanted the last shot.
Parkway’s Jamie Williams rebounded Sterling’s second miss and quickly found Larry, who took four fast dribbles up the floor before unleashing a last-gasp, past-halfcourt heave that ripped through the net at the buzzer for a game-winning 3-pointer and a 64-63 state semifinal upset.
“I ran and threw it up,” said Chloe, who scored a game-high 29 points – 21 in the second half and overtime. “We practiced it earlier today and hey, I made it.”
Chloe’s heroics enabled Parkway (29-6) to return to Saturday’s 6 p.m. Division I Non-Select state championship game.
The fifth-seeded Lady Panthers will defend their title against No. 2 seed Denham Springs (29-4) in the LHSAA’s Marsh Madness basketball tournament at Southeastern Louisiana’s University Center. The Lady Yellow Jackets outslugged No. 3 Mandeville 46-39 in Thursday’s other Division I semi.
Madness was precisely what unfolded for Parkway and Walker in the fourth quarter and at the end of overtime Thursday night.
Just as improbable as Larry’s game-winning shot was the path Parkway, which extended its winning streak to 17 games, took to reach the state championship game for a third year in a row.
Walker (35-2) led 49-33 with 1:27 left in the third quarter of regulation and appeared primed to close out Parkway’s title defense. Then the fourth quarter happened.
“I thought we were the better team for the majority of the game,” Walker head coach Korey Arnold said. “That’s what happens when you let teams hang around.”
After hanging around, Parkway suddenly roared back.
The Lady Panthers outscored Walker 19-4 in the final period and tied the game at 57-57 on Larry’s 15-footer with 2:19 remaining. Neither team scored again, with Walker’s Sterling missing an off-balance driving layup in transition to take things to overtime.
“I was a lot nervous,” Parkway coach Gloria Williams said of the four-minute overtime period, where she lost starters Dakota Howard and Zara Baker-Scanlon to fouls. “I had two of my top players with four fouls. For the most part I think they did everything we asked them to do. That’s why we’re able to come up with this victory.”
The game was tied at 59-59 with 1:25 left when Larry forced a turnover that Howard (14 points, 13 rebounds, 7 steals) chased down in the front court for a layup.
Walker opened a 63-59 advantage on a free throw from Kennedi Ard with 27 seconds left. Larry, a Tennessee Tech signee, knocked down a jump shot, drawing Parkway within 63-61 with 6.9 seconds to go and Sterling was fouled quickly after the inbounds pass.
Sterling went to the free throw stripe with the chance to make things difficult or impossible for Parkway, having made 11 of 13 attempts prior to her final trip in overtime.
“I was praying,” Williams admitted.
Sterling obliged with her misses. After rebounding the second one, Williams smartly found Larry.
It was the first game-winning buzzer-beater of her career, said the senior returning first-team All-Stater.
“There was a lot of contact, but you don’t get those fouls at the end of the game,” she said. “You’ve just got to take the shot and take the contact as well.”
Arnold praised Larry’s composure under pressure.
“She had to make a play,” he said, “and she carried her team to the finals.”
Walker, which led 31-24 at halftime, maintained a double-digit lead for a 7 ½ minute stretch that sandwiched the third and fourth quarter. The Lady Cats’ biggest lead of 49-33 was courtesy of Ja’Miya Vann’s 3-pointer and a drive from Ard made it 53-38 going into the fourth quarter.
“There was a lot of time left on the clock, you have to keep on playing,” Williams said. “Chip at it a little at a time and I think we did that. We had some stops, and we had some baskets that finally started to go in and fall for us. We were able to make those runs.”
Parkway’s shocking 13-0 run to open the quarter narrowed the gap to 53-51 with Baker-Scanlon scoring six of her nine points before Howard found Savannah Wilson for two of her 12 points.
The Lady Panthers trailed until Larry’s 15-footer tied the game at 57 with 2:19 left. They turned the ball over three times and missed a shot in the final two minutes, and watched the Lady Cats work the clock under a minute, only to miss their final two shot attempts and two free throws.
That’s when Larry called game.
“The ‘Silent Assassin’ strikes again,” her coach said of Larry. “It’s a true statement. I couldn’t be more proud of her. She’s worked on that shot all of her life, and for it to go in at the right moment, at the right time, hats off to Chloe.”
Contact William at willou@cox.net
Non-Select Division I semifinal
Parkway 64, Walker 63, OT
Parkway 10 14 14 19 7 – 64
Walker 13 18 22 4 6 – 63
Parkway (29-6) – Chloe Larry 9-19 8-13 29, Dakota Howard 6-7 1-1 14, Savannah Wilson -11 2-2 12, Zara Baker 4-10 1-4 9, Jasmyne Hendrix 0-1 0-0 0, Jayla James 0-3 0-0 0, Khia Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Jamie Williams 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 24-51 12-20 64.
Walker (35-2) – RayOnna Sterling 7-14 11-15 25, Arionna Patterson 5-13 2-4 13, Ja’Miya Vann 4-10 0-0 9, Kennedy Ard 3-11 1-2 8, Trinity Thomas 2-5 1-2 5, Leah Edwards 1-1 0-0 2, Keaira Gross 0-0 1-2 1, Kailey Bennett 0-0 0-2 0, LaShantae Clay 0-1 0-0 0. TOTAL 22-55 16-27 63.
3-point goals: Parkway 4-16 (Larry 3-10, Howard 1-1, Baker 0-2, James 0-2, Wilson 0-1). Walker 3-16 (Patterson 1-3, Vann 1-6, Ard 1-6, Clay 0-1). Rebounds: Parkway 36 (Howard 13). Walker 34 (Sterling 9). Assists: Parkway 12 (Baker, Howard, James 3). Walker 11 (Clay, Ard 3).