The Parkway Lady Panthers and Haughton Lady Bucs face off Thursday night with a spot in the non-select Division I state championship game on the line.
Tip off is 6:15 at them University Center on the campus of Southeastern University in Hammond, site of the LHSAA’s state tournament also known as Marsh Madness.
The winner will play the winner between No. 2 Walker (32-2) and No. 4 Zachary (24-5) for the championship Saturday at 8 p.m.
This is the eighth straight year Bossier Parish has had a representative at the state tournament.
Parkway (28-4) is looking for its fourth straight berth in the championship game. The Lady Panthers have won back-to-back state championships.
Regardless of the outcome Thursday night, this has been an historic season for Haughton (28-5). It’s the first time in school history a Lady Bucs team has reached the state tournament.
The game is a rematch of a District 1-5A game between the teams on Jan. 31 at Haughton. Parkway. It was close for a quarter with the Lady Panthers leading 14-13. Parkway began to pull away in the second quarter then turned the game into a rout in the second half, winning 69-42.
Parkway’s Dakota Howard scored 27 points. The Lady Panthers hit seven 3-pointers, including four by Khia Thomas.
The Lady Bucs have only lost once since then to Huntington 56-46 in the regular-season finale. Huntington is in the select Division I semifinals.
The Lady Panthers will take a 14-game winning streak into the game.
Both teams have won two playoff games.
Parkway, the No. 1 seed, defeated No. 17 Thibodaux 57-17 in the second round and Denham Springs 36-22 in the quarterfinals. Haughton, the No. 4 seed, defeated No. 13 Destrehan 58-54 in the second round and No. 5 Barbe 66-41 in the quarterfinals.
Howard led the Panthers in both games, scoring 30 against Thibodaux and 15 against Denham Springs.
After blowing out Thibodaux, the Lady Panthers had a bit of a tougher time against Denham Springs in a rematch of last year’s state championship game. Parkway led 22-18 early in the fourth quarter then sealed the deal with a 13-0 run.
While Howard has been Parkway’s unquestioned leader, she has a strong supporting cast. Those include senior forward Savannah Wilson, junior guard Khia Thomas, junior forward/guard Zara Baker, junior guard Jasmyne Hendrix and junior guard Kenadie Loche. Loche scored nine against Thibodaux.
Haughton dominated the second half against Barbe after the game was tied at 24 at the half.
Junior post player Shaniya Perkins led the Lady Bucs with 29 points. Junior Skylar Branch had 21. Junior Bella Hammond had 15.
Freshman Leigh Williamson and senior Kamyra Turner have also been Ken contributors to the Lady Bucs’ success.