Senior guard Kaylee Johnson of Windsor High School in Arnold, Missouri suffered a knee injury. It was the end of the season, but the injury was so bad that it also marked the end of Johnson’s basketball career. She had started playing as a freshman, was consistently the top player of the team, and became Windsor’s team captain for this particular year. She tearfully admitted that this injury was the end for her athletic career.
It was the senior night, and Johnson was surprised when she was told that she was on the starting lineup. Unknown to the injured senior guard, Windsor High School and its strong rival, Fox High School, hatched a plan to give her a memorable last basket. Fox’s Coach Jeremy Donald instructed his team to put down their guard and allow Johnson to shoot and score her last.
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For a change, the two opposing teams cooperated and shared a plan. Andrea Reed, Windsor’s head coach, says that ending a career because of an injury is unimaginable for an athlete. At the tip-off, everyone in the Fox team eased up as planned. The ball goes to Johnson, she makes a layup, and she scores her last basket.
Fox senior guard, Erin Brischbach, says that that night will be remembered as a fitting ending to the career of one who truly loved the sport. No one will look back and recount who won the game; instead, people will share the moment when Johnson scored her last basket.