Cookie Johnson summed up the feelings of the Warren Central Lady Vikes in one sentence Monday night.

“We weren’t fixin’ to lose that game,” the senior said after scoring a game-high 24 points in a 74-55 South State satellite game victory.

Not after Picayune fell behind. Not after the Lady Tide tried to frustrate WC with kicks, pinches and physical play. Not after Picayune sliced a 20-point lead down to 10. Not ever.

Now Johnson and the Lady Vikes (23-7) are one win away from a return trip to the Mississippi Coliseum for the Class 5A state tournament.

“It’s a relief,” said Johnson, the two-time Vicksburg Post Player of the Year. “We all came into this game scared. It’s our senior year and I know we all want to get back and try to win the gold ball.”

The Lady Vikes will travel to Harrison Central on Friday to face the host Red Rebellettes, a 53-45 winner over Ocean Springs. Warren Central defeated Harrison Central in the Red Carpet Classic in late January.

“I told our girls before the playoffs started that this was a seven game series,” Fuller said. “We have three down. I don’t care if we win two this weekend and two at the Big House, or one this weekend and three at the Big House.”

The top three teams advance out of the four-team South State tournament.

On Monday, as has become habit, it was the seasoned Warren Central seniors that took control early and staved off every Picayune rally.

Johnson scored 14 first-quarter points and Carla Latham added six as the Lady Vikes built a 22-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The advantage stayed in double digits until the fourth quarter when the Lady Tide cut the lead to 10 with six minutes to go using a mixture of pressure defense and physical play.

“I thought after we got the big lead that that was as physical a game as I have ever seen,” Fuller said. “I told our kids not to get frustrated. But we got some frustration fouls that were basically retaliation.”

Ashley Vinzant, who scored a career-high 11 points, quickly followed with a 3-pointer, and back-to-back treys by Brittany Banks and Johnson increased the lead back to 69-51.

“I thought we did a good job getting back into the game,” Picayune coach Dennis Peterson said. “But then again they come right back and hit, what, three threes? Give them credit, not many teams can do that.”

Warren Central hit six treys on the night, with Johnson and Shondalyn Rogers each nailing two. Rogers scored 10 of her 12 points in the third quarter and Banks netted 11.

Ashley Bell led Picayune with 17 points, while Jamelle Clark scored 13 and Dedrea Magee added 11.

“We came out ready to play,” Vinzant said. “We need to keep playing like we have been playing and try to get back to state.”