Johnson keeps faith
Senior has seen share of tough times at MU.
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Denise Johnson leaves her daughter, Jessra, with the same message every day.
WOMEN
SUNDAY
Missouri vs. Iowa State, 3 p.m. (FSN)
Johnson
“I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me,” Johnson, a pastor in Fayette, will remind the Missouri forward during one of their three daily phone conversations.
It is not so much a necessary reminder. The scripture from Philippians 4:13 is tattooed across Jessra Johnson’s forearm.
But deep into a senior season Coach Cindy Stein said Missouri is “building more character than wins,” Johnson said the familiar words offer a reassuring nod to the power of faith.
“It’s something that growing up we always heard during rough times. You can do all things,” Johnson said after practice Friday at Mizzou Arena. “My faith isn’t going to change, win or lose. I’m still going to believe in God, and he’s still going to be the person that I turn to.”
Johnson has done many things well at Missouri (11-10, 1-7 Big 12), which hosts No. 22 Iowa State today.
A 6-foot-1 forward with a smooth game inside and a size-belying handle, she recently became the 27th player at Missouri to reach 1,000 points. Johnson leads the Tigers in scoring (13.2 points) and rebounds (6.3). She’s paced Missouri in five of its last seven games, including a 19-point performance in the Tigers’ 70-62 victory over then-No. 10 Baylor on Jan. 23.
“ ‘What can’t she do?’ is the question,” senior forward Amanda Hanneman said. “She’s here to play.”
As Johnson said, however, “You can only feel so good about playing” well “because we’re not winning. I feel like I bring an asset to the team, but I can’t really say I feel good about it.”
If she sounds conflicted about her time at Missouri, Johnson insists she is not.
Though, she did not envision so many difficult times after spurning big-time interest elsewhere to remain close to home.
At Fayette, she helped lead the Falcons on their deepest playoff run in 30 years and became the first girl in Missouri state history to surpass 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks. Here, she’s been part of 12 conference victories in four seasons and gained national headlines for a regrettable reason. Johnson and fellow senior Hanneman were suspended two games in December after allegedly assaulting a male cheerleader, though no charges were pursued.
But Johnson said she’s never wavered on her choice to attend MU.
Not when she looks into the Mizzou Arena stands and sees “Jessra’s Jungle,” the gold-clad cheering section of Johnson’s family and supporters from Fayette.
Johnson, who averaged at least 13 points and 6.9 boards each of her past two seasons, has become Missouri’s go-to option down the stretch. She took the final shot against Oklahoma, watched a potential game-tying shot rim out in the final second against Kansas and scored five straight points as Missouri pulled away from Baylor over the final four minutes.
Johnson remains a believer.
“I wouldn’t trade this season for anything,” Johnson said. “Of course, we don’t have the record we want or I want personally. But I love being here, I love being in Columbia, I love being next to my family. I wouldn’t trade this for anything. We still have the same goals of getting into the postseason.”
Reach David Briggs at dbriggs@columbiatribune.com.
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