The Parkway Lady Panthers and Haughton Lady Bucs both advanced to the quarterfinals of the non-select Division I playoffs Monday night, but they got the job done in different fashion.
Two-time defending champion Parkway, the No. 1 seed, rolled to a 57-17 victory over No. 17 Thibodaux at Parkway.
Haughton, the No. 4 seed, rallied for a 58-54 victory over No. 13 Destrehan at Haughton.
Parkway (27-4) will host No. 8 Denham Springs (23-9) in the quarterfinals in a rematch of last year’s state championship game. The Lady Jackets defeated No. 9 Slidell 54-36 in the second round.
Haughton (27-5) will host No. 5 Barbe (31-3) in the quarterfinals. The Bucs defeated No. 12 Northshore 71-57 in the second round.
At Parkway, the game was close for the first few minutes. But with the game tied at 4, the Lady Panthers went on an 11-2 run for a 15-6 lead.
Parkway led 17-11 early in the second quarter then closed the half with a 22-2 run.
Dakota Howard scored 12 of her game-high 30 points in the second quarter. She had 18 in the first half.
Howard added 10 more in the third quarter. Kenadie Loche scored five, including a 3-pointer, and the Lady Panthers led 55-13.
Loche finished with nine points. Savannah Wilson added six. Khia Thomas and Zara Baker had four each. Natalia Brown and Jasmyne Hendrix each scored two.
Thibodaux closed its season 18-9.
At Haughton, the game went down to the wire.
The Lady Bucs rallied from a 36-30 deficit late in the third quarter. The score was knotted at 39 going into the fourth.
Haughton took a quick 41-39 lead but Destrehan tied it.
Leigh Williamson hit her second big 3-pointer of the second half to put the Bucs up 44-41. Haughton extended the run to nine straight thanks in part to offensive rebounds off its only two missed free throws of the fourth quarter.
But the Lady Wildcats answered with a 9-0 run to tie it at 50. Shaniya Perkins made a layup to put the Lady Bucs back on top. But Destrehan tied it again.
Bella Hammond sank two free throws with 1:20 left to put Haughton back on top. Good defense inside caused a miss on the other end. Hammond sank two more from the line with 50.8 seconds left, giving her team a 54-50 lead.
Destrehan missed a couple of 3-pointers and Skylar Branch hit two free throws with 14 seconds left. The Lady Wildcats got a bucket as time ran out for the final margin.
Perkins led Haughton with 27 points. She scored 10 in the third quarter and came up with key rebounds on both ends throughout the game.
Haughton led 18-14 after the first quarter. The Lady Bucs had trouble getting their shots to fall in the second. The Lady Wildcats took advantage and led 28-24 at the half.
Destrehan took the 36-30 lead with 2:28 left in the quarter on a steal and a layup.
That’s when the Lady Bucs regained momentum.
Perkins made one free throw then Williamson knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 36-34. Perkins drove for a layup to tie it.
Hammond, who hit two 3s in the first quarter, scored six of her 12 points in the fourth. Haughton made 8-of-10 from the line in the quarter.
Branch scored four of her 12 points in the fourth. Perkins had six points in the fourth. Williamson finished with seven big points.
Koi Ursin led Destrehan (23-9) with 22 points, including four 3-pointers.