[3/10/05] JACKSON – Cookie Johnson spent the last 2 minutes, 37 seconds of her high school basketball career on the bench, relegated to a cheerleader after picking up her fifth foul.

She left the game with her team down 10 points, then pushed as best she could as her teammates, sisters for the past three seasons, made a wild charge at Harrison Central.

The deficit, which was at double figures nearly the entire game, was trimmed to seven, then five and three. All the while Johnson stayed perched in her chair hoping for a miracle.

“We thought we were going to win it,” said an emotional Johnson after the Lady Vikes came up six points short in the Class 5A state semifinals. “I was just praying.”

Coach Donny Fuller said afterward his team needed about two more minutes and one more timeout.

But it wasn’t meant to be. Harrison Central advanced while one of the most memorable senior classes in Warren Central history bid adieu to the Big House for the second straight season, having come within two wins of a gold ball.

In the Mississippi Coliseum stands, Vicksburg High coach Mike Coleman’s green Missy Gators’ windbreaker stood out in the crowd. He was there to cheer for a Warren County squad, but he was also there to see those seven seniors play in their final games.

For three seasons, Johnson and her six senior teammates won 8 of 11 games against Vicksburg. Coleman said he planned on attending Warren Central’s graduation ceremony, if it does not conflict with Vicksburg High’s.

As each senior basketball player is announced, he said, “They’ll get a standing ovation.”

And who will get the loudest cheer? “Oh, Cookie,” Coleman said with a smile.

“I want to make sure they all walk across that stage,” Coleman said. “I could tell when they were freshmen that they were going to be one of the best groups ever. They just loved the game. From the outside looking in, they don’t let anything interfere with basketball.”

After the final seconds ticked away, when Harrison Central had finally put the nail in the Lady Vikes’ coffin, each player made her way slowly to the dressing room.

For seven seniors who won 61 games, three division championships and made two state tournament appearances in three years, the walk was a long one.

Several will play on the next level, including University of New Orleans signees Shondalyn Rogers and Johnson. Saleda Montgomery and Carla Latham are getting interest from junior colleges. Brittany Banks, Kristin Linson and Ashley Vinzant all brought something different to the table. It’s something that will be absent next year.

Fuller now faces the realization of restocking. The losses will be felt for some time around Warren Central. A group that strong, that good doesn’t come around often.

“Our kids gave everything they had. They left nothing out there,” a teary-eyed Fuller said. “That’s the kind of thing you expect out of seven sisters. We’re a family and that’s seven sisters.

“You are never supposed to have one group you favor over another, but that group of seniors will always be one of my favorites in my heart.”

And one of Coleman’s too – as long as they walk across that stage.