Cookie Johnson and Shondalyn Rogers are still planning to suit up for their freshman seasons for the University of New Orleans.

But they’ll be suiting up in Tyler, Texas, instead of the Big Easy.

Rogers and Johnson left New Orleans for Vicksburg last Saturday, two days before Hurricane Katrina decimated the city.

“The trip took us seven hours when it normally would have taken three,” said Johnson, who lives in the Kings Community and added that she didn’t lose power. “I didn’t think it was going to be that bad until I started watching the TV on Sunday.”

Johnson said she and her teammates will leave Vicksburg on Tuesday for Tyler, a city of about 100,000 between Shreveport and Dallas on Interstate 20. The team will enroll in classes at Tyler and play for the Privateers this season.

There is no word on how long colleges will be shut down in New Orleans, but it is said that it may take two months even to restore power to the city.

Johnson starred for four years at Warren Central, earning The Vicksburg Post’s Player of the Year award three straight years.

Rogers transferred to WC from North Carolina before her senior season and earned All-County honors.