Parkway’s Chloe Larry revisits miraculous shot in LHSAA semifinals
by Jimmy Watson // GeauxPreps.com Contributor // Shreveport Times
Her admiration for Harriet Tubman explains a lot about Parkway’s Chloe Larry.
Tubman, who died in 1913, escaped slavery to become a noted abolitionist and social activist for women’s suffrage. She reportedly rescued an estimated 70 slaves on 13 rescue missions through the Underground Railroad.
“She was the Goat at what she did — and was tough,” said Larry, perhaps the best all-around female athlete in Louisiana among 2024 graduates.
While Larry hasn’t yet made a significant social impact, she did make an inspiring athletic impact during the 2023-24 school year. She made the miraculous 3-pointer in the LHSAA semifinals to lift the Lady Panthers into the state championship game, which they won for a second consecutive season. She averaged 19.4 points and was named the Outstanding Player on the LSWA Class 5A All-State team.
Nicknamed the “Silent Assassin” due to her quiet demeanor on the athletic field, Larry also became a state champion track and field athlete when she hoisted her javelin 142 feet, 3 inches in LSU’s Bernie Moore Stadium, easily 15 feet further than her closest competitor.
And then there’s softball, where the girl who admits to loving squishmellows played an abbreviated season due to her basketball commitments. Still, she hit .556 to make the LSWA Class 5A All-State team.
“It has been clear to me that Chloe is a very kind, caring, hardworking and humble person,” said Parkway softball coach Kelsey Gallman. “She is very determined and is a student of the game, while being extremely coachable and a natural leader. Chloe is the kind of person every coach dreams of having on their team.”
Larry’s athletic talents were shaped and honed by a set of older brothers who were multi-sport standouts in their own right. Amani Larry played baseball at Mississippi State and Gabe Larry starred in basketball, baseball and football at Parkway earning Shreveport Times Male Athlete of the Year recognition in 2020.
“I love having brothers, who are talented, come before me. Watching them do great things just excites me,” Larry said. “They did set the bar, but my brothers taught me to work hard, and that was really the only bar I tried to reach. Everything else just fell into place after the hours put in.”
The push of her brothers gave Larry the drive to lift her team on her shoulders after Parkway saw 2023 Player of the Year Mikaylah Williams leave for LSU after last season. Down a bucket to Walker in the March semifinal, Larry knew what she had to do as the clock wound down.
“We had given everything to comeback against Walker, and I looked around and the tears I saw from my teammates did something to me,” Larry said. “I knew I couldn’t give up even though it looked like it was over. I put everything I had left into that halfcourt shot and made it.”
Parkway won 64-63 in overtime with the bomb, then the Lady Panthers demolished Denham Springs 57-29 for the title.
Even though she had the opportunity to compete in college softball or track and field, she opted to sign a basketball scholarship with Tennessee Tech. Thanks to information from her brothers, she’s prepared for the next step.
“I’ve heard my brothers discuss the level of commitment it takes,” Larry said. “We have done this our whole lives although it has always gotten a bit harder as you level up — and it will continue to do the same.”
Every high school student has a teacher or coach who went above and beyond to ensure schoolwork, and athletics meshed well. And Larry is no different. Track coach Kent Falting was her math teacher for two years and Megan Smith instructed her in food and nutrition.
“Both are great teachers, but they are more than teachers. They are family,” Larry said. “They were flexible with me because of my schedule, and they always treated me like I was their own.”
Involved in her church, the Red Jackets, Beta Club and the National Honor Society, Larry has just one aspect of her persona she’d like to change before moving on to the next level.
“Being understanding that my teammates aren’t always going to have the same amount of passion for the game that I have,” she said.
Chloe Larry file
Larry’s greatest fear: “God”
What would you like to do as a profession? Coach college basketball
Favorite sport to watch: Women’s college basketball
Country she’d most like to visit: Dubai
Favorite subject in school: Math
Favorite TV program: KC Undercover
Favorite pro athlete: Lebron James
Favorite article of clothing: Lululemon
Person she most admires: “My mom, the reason I’m so strong is because I’ve watched her.”
The habit she’d most like to break: “Sometimes I don’t decide to step up until the game’s almost over and I want to change that.”
Go-to app: Tiktok