By LAMAR GAFFORD, Journal Sports
HAMMOND – Last season, Parkway showed it can win a title with offense.
Saturday night, it was all about the defense as the Lady Panthers smothered second-seeded Denham Springs, 57-29, to capture their second straight Division I Non-Select championship at the Pride Roofing University Center.
“I’m proud of these young ladies and the effort that they’ve put forth through this journey,” Parkway coach Gloria Williams said.
Lady Panther senior guard and Tennessee Tech signee Chloe Larry continued her monumental week and wrapped up a stellar career by scoring 20 points and grabbing five rebounds to earn Most Outstanding Player honors.
Larry, a returning first-team All-Stater, helped Parkway reach three straight state championship games. After falling in double overtime in her sophomore year, the Lady Panthers were dominant in avenging that loss to Ponchatoula to cap her junior season and send superstar Mikaylah Williams off to LSU with a championship ring.
Now Larry has won a matching pair, stepping out of the sidekick’s role in her senior season and shining in the spotlight all year – while being targeted by opposing defenses.
This year’s team didn’t enter the season as favorites to repeat. They entered the playoffs as the No. 5 seed, and needed Larry’s 54-foot buzzer-beating 3-pointer Thursday night ending overtime to stun top-seeded Walker 64-63 in the semifinals, capping a furious rally from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit.
The 2023 Lady Panthers posted blowout wins in every step of the postseason. This year’s team (30-6), while maintaining the program’s long District 1-5A winning streak thanks to a last-minute Larry basket in a 64-62 squeaker at Natchitoches Central, also had to grind out a nine-point comeback quarterfinal win at home with a fourth-quarter surge – led, of course, by Larry, who scored 33, six straight in a game-ending 15-7 run over the final six minutes to put away scrappy St. Amant.
A newcomer to the dress-out roster, but not the team — junior center Dakota Howard, who was a manager last season while sitting out after transferring from Haughton – made big impact again Saturday as she recorded a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, while adding two blocks.
Parkway trailed 14-11 after the first quarter, but then tightened up its defense and exploded on a 22-4 run in the second quarter. By clogging the passing lanes to force 14 turnovers and only give up four Yellow Jacket assists, Parkway outscored them 17-0 in points off turnovers.
“We discussed our game plan, but we saw in the first four minutes that it wasn’t working and they were able to get some offensive boards that we typically get on the defensive end,” Williams said. “So, we knew we had to make some adjustments and when we did, that was the best thing for us to do.”
The Lady Panthers allowed Denham Springs (27-4) to shoot just 26.2 percent from the field and held the losers to a season-low in points – allowing only 15 on just five field goals in the final three quarters.
The Yellow Jackets did not have a player that scored more than six points, as Olivia Slack and Prai’ Nelson led those categories for them. While Larry and Howard were the obvious standouts, for Parkway, it was more of an ensemble performance with a united approach.
“I love defense and I love kids that want to play defense,” Williams said. “It’s about heart, effort and hustle. You don’t have to have a special skill to play defense. You just have to have the heart and the hustle to do it.”
The soft-spoken Larry, a multi-sport star at Parkway, became a national sensation overnight Thursday as video of her game-winner surged on social media and was featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter – as the No. 1 Play of the Day, and star anchor Scott Van Pelt’s “Best Thing I Saw Today.”
But she made it clear Saturday’s triumph was not at all anti-climatic.
“It’s amazing to end my high school career like this,” Larry said. “It’s a high going into college.”
And coming home to Bossier City.
Contact LaMar at lamargafford@gmail.com