Editor’s note: This is a regular feature profiling senior athletes at Bryant High School.

NAME: Shanika Johnson

DATE OF BIRTH: May 27, 1992

PARENTS: Rebecca Johnson

SIBLINGS: I have two brothers. Rodney Hughes is my older brother and Derek Johnson is my younger brother. He’s 14.

FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Yearbook

FAVORITE SPARE TIME ACTIVITY: Listen to music

FAVORITE FOOD: Chicken Alfredo

FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST OR GROUP: My favorite group, I’d say Paramore. My favorite artist, I would say Rihanna.

FAYETTEVILLE — At the Randal Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 6, the Bryant Lady Hornets kicked off their 2010 track season with a fourth-place team finish. The Arkansas Track Coaches Association Invitational featured 25 teams.

Defending state champion Bentonville took the girls’ team title with 104 points. Fayetteville was runner-up with 64 points, followed by Rogers with 63 and Bryant with 60. Cabot rounded out the top five with 44 points.

FAYETTEVILLE — The Bryant Hornets opened up their track season with a strong showing at the Arkansas Track Coaches Association Indoor Invitational at the University of Arkansas on Saturday. The Hornets scored a total of 67 points to place third behind team champion Fayetteville (96 points) and Fort Smith Southside (76). Twenty-five teams scored in the boys division, with Cabot (36) and Bentonville (35) rounding out the top five.

The Bryant Blue Hornets seventh grade team from Bethel Middle School swept three games by an average margin of 18 points to capture the championship of the one-day Cabot Tournament on Saturday.

Now 13-1 on the season, the team opened the tourney with a 43-22 win over Cabot North, followed that up with a 42-28 victory over Little Rock Christian then nabbed the title with a 41-21 romp over Cabot South.

By Rob Patrick

LITTLE ROCK — The Bryant Hornets’ last two games had ended with painful results: A loss by 2 at North Little Rock and a 4-point loss at home to Little Rock Central when a shot that probably would’ve won it refused to go down.

It was downright discouraging.

So it was nail-biting time in the closing minutes of Friday night’s 7A-Central Conference game at Little Rock Catholic. The Hornets, who had fallen to the Rockets at home by a demoralizing 56-39 final to open league play, had played them off their feet this time, building as much as 10-point lead, 46-36.

LITTLE ROCK — They call them “free” for a reason.

Think about it: The game literally stops. Everybody backs off a little. There’s no defense in your face, no double-team to beat. You stand there 13 feet from the rim, 15 feet from the backboard. The officials toss you the ball and let you have at it.

Of course, free throws bring their own kind of pressure. It takes concentration, good touch, some confidence and, particularly in a hostile environment, some experience to make good on the opportunities.

On Friday, against an inspired Mount St. Mary Academy Belles team at their unique, acoustically-challenging McAuley Center, the Bryant Lady Hornets had all that. The result was an 18-of-21 performance at the line that helped them escape with a 59-50 victory.

2009 7A-Central Standings

Boys

Conf. Overall

Conway 8-0 18-2

NLR 6-2 14-8

Van Buren 5-3 17-5

LR Central 5-3 10-11

LR Catholic 4-4 7-8

Bryant 2-6 9-13

Cabot 2-6 8-11

Russellville 0-8 3-16