STARKVILLE — Diamber Johnson is re-energized.
Now that her mother is back home after suffering a heart attack nearly two weeks ago, the senior guard wants to make the most of the rest of her senior season.
The Mississippi State women’s basketball team hopes it isn’t too late.
Johnson scored 14 points and showed signs Thursday in a loss to the No. 21 University of Georgia of being the leader MSU will need, but the Lady Bulldogs will need a little more if they are going to have a finishing kick good enough to get them back to the NCAA tournament.
MSU’s next chance will come at 2 p.m. today when it plays host to Vanderbilt University (17-5, 5-4 Southeastern Conference). The matchup will give MSU (13-9, 3-6) a chance to snap a three-game losing skid with a résumé-building win against a team that appears to be on solid footing to get a bid to the NCAA tournament.
“It is like a load is off my shoulders,” Johnson said. “I have been getting a lot of talks from people I know who understand what is going on have but they have reminded me this is where you determine your destiny. They have been giving me a lot of encouraging words and have reminded me, ‘How do you want to go out?’ ”
With seven regular-season games remaining, including rematches against LSU, Arkansas, and Kentucky, MSU has chance to move from eighth in the league into the middle of the pack and to put itself in the mix to be one of seven or eight teams that could reach the NCAAs. MSU went 13-17 and missed the NCAA tournament a year after it made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history in 2009-10.
To get back to the NCAAs, though, Johnson needs to return to the form that saw her lead the SEC in scoring (17.9 points per game) prior to the Jan. 26 game against Arkansas. Prior to that game, Johnson received a call from her sister informing her her mother, Adella, had suffered a heart attack. Johnson spent most of that day with her mother before returning to Starkville to play against the Razorbacks. She admitted after a 1-of-10 shooting performance that her game suffered because she hadn’t eaten anything all day.
The effort against Arkansas in a 51-35 loss carried over to the next game — a 69-43 loss at the University of South Carolina. Johnson was 1 of 11 from the field against the Gamecocks and scored only two points, her lowest output of the season and only the fourth time she failed to reach double digits.
Johnson said she talked with her mother, who told her after she had her surgery that required three stints to clear blockages in her heart, to go home and not to worry about her.
“She told (her family) not to let me know (she had a heart attack) because of the fact she knew I had a game and she knew I needed to focus,” Johnson said. “She really has been like, ‘Do you job. I am fine. No worries.’ ”
Johnson said calling her mother “stubborn” would be an understatement, but that she loves her for thinking about her in that way. She said her grandmother and grandfather, who live in Mississippi, took her mother to the hospital after she had the heart attack but heeded her mother’s instructions and didn’t tell Diamber.
Johnson came off the bench and scored 14 points in 36 minutes Thursday in a 70-60 loss at Georgia. MSU had 24 turnovers and shot 41.1 percent in the loss. Johnson said Friday she feels better knowing her mother is home and that she is prepared to raise her play and the play of the team.
MSU coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said Johnson communicated with the team more and looked like she had more energy Thursday night. Those are things she expects from the most experienced player on the team, and wants to see more of the rest of the season.
“We need her energy to be in games, and now as a team we need to make better decisions,” Fanning-Otis said. “If we can do that and have more effort like we had (against Georgia) for 40 minutes, then we can win some ballgames. We have to have more possessions, which means we can’t turn the ball over.”
Johnson had five assists and six turnovers against Georgia. Fanning-Otis said Johnson sets the tone for the team and that she feels the team will pick up the pace if Johnson plays with more energy.
Johnson understands that responsibility and believes she is in a better place mentally to accept that challenge, knowing that her last season at MSU could end in eight more games if the team doesn’t advance past the conference tournament.
“I don’t want (her mother’s heart attack) to be a weakness, and that is what it was for me,” Johnson said. “I had to figure out how to turn it around and to not let it bother me as much as it was.
“It is just being mentally tougher. Moments like that define you. Some people can take that and go off and do great. I don’t want to use that as an excuse. I am just trying to get back to me and to play ball and to finish out strong.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.