Senior NaJah Johnson has battled back from injury to lead the Lady Bears in another playoff run. 

Najah Johnson had big plans for her senior year at Highland Baptist Christian School. The first order of business was volleyball season.

The multi-sport star was putting in work last summer getting prepared for the upcoming volleyball season. As a junior, the 5-foot-8 middle blocker had led her team to the LHSAA state tournament. The goal, of course, was to take the next step and secure a state title.

But, as she put herself through training sessions, Johnson began to experience some physical discomfort .First, it was in the form of intermittent pain accompanied by numbness in her left leg.

She shrugged it off initially, chalking it up to her grueling workouts. Eventually, however, the symptoms worsened to where it was time for her to get checked out by a medical professional.

The diagnosis? A vertebral compression fracture. In layman’s terms, a small broken bone in her back. The bad news was that she would miss volleyball season. That was especially hard for the senior, who plans to join the volleyball team next year as a freshman at Xavier University in New Orleans.

“It was really hard to watch the girls play without me,” Johnson said. “To experience the games and practices from the sideline. All I could do was watch. I knew my team needed me. I felt helpless. That made it even harder.”

If things went according to plan with her rehab, the good news was that she might return for a portion of the basketball season. As she pushed through rebab – stretching, walking, swimming and finally running – there were several times when Johnson thought she was on the verge of being medically cleared.

But her return kept being pushed back.

“It was heartbreaking,” she said. “The only thing I wanted was to be back on the team. That was the only thing on my mind. I missed volleyball season. I couldn’t miss basketball season.”

In the waning days of December, she got the good news that she could return to the court. She wasn’t the only one excited, either.

“If I’m being honest,” she said, “(Basketball) Coach (Carol) Sensley wanted to throw me a party,” Johnson laughed. “I was ecstatic. I had been praying for that moment. Not being able to play, I felt like I had lost part of me.”

Johnson has been a student at HBCS since preschool. In elementary school, she watched as the varsity girls team struggled. Numbers were down. Wins were few and far between.

Johnson was on the varsity roster as an eighth-grader when the team posted a winning record for the first time in years. It only got better from there, as the Lady Bears have posted an 82-18 record and won four straight district titles.

As a sophomore, Johnson was in the starting rotation for the team that reached the state finals for the first time in school history. She savored every moment spent with senior Marin Barras, the most decorated player in school history.

“Without Marin, I wouldn’t be the player I am,” Johnson said. “She pushed me harder than I thought I could go. She taught me things beyond the game.”

“Not a day went by where I felt like it was just a game or a practice. We all came on the court, worked hard, encouraged each other and pushed each other past our limits.”

It’s always been about more than basketball for Johnson. She doesn’t pay attention to her stats. She takes more joy in the blue-collar work, such as screening, defending and rebounding, than scoring points.

“For me, the highlight of each game is watching the girls push themselves harder than they did the last time.

“I feel like a big sister to the younger girls. I like to encourage them to become better players. I want to be there for them the way the older girls were there for me.”

Johnson said the Lady Bears don’t just set goals: they achieve them. One of those goals – a district title – has been accomplished. The road to the next goal, a state championship, will begin in the second round of the Division IV select playoffs for the third-seeded Lady Bears.

“We have the team to do it,” she said. “We just have to apply ourselves and be disciplined. With this team, I know we can do it.”