Columbus North girls basketball players and sisters Sydney, from left, Avery and Olivia Johnson pose for a photo at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Olivia Johnson got a taste of varsity basketball last year as a junior at Columbus North.
Now as senior co-captain, Johnson has her two sisters alongside her. Junior Sydney Johnson and freshman Avery Johnson have helped spark the Bull Dogs to an 8-5 record a little more than halfway through the season.
“It’s definitely a unique situation when you have all three sisters who are varsity level players,” North coach Brett White said. “It’s been a positive for our team because they are so close, and they bring that closesness to their teammates, as well. Olivia has done a nice job of stepping up and being a leader for us, and she’s carried her sisters along with her.”
This isn’t the first time the Johnsons have played together on the same team. They all played for St. Peter’s Lutheran during the 2019-20 season.
Columbus North’s Olivia Johnson shoots a 3-pointer against Jennings County at Columbus North, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023.
The Republic file photo
Olivia helped St. Peter’s to a Lutheran School state championship as seventh-grader, and Sydney was on that team, as well. Avery led the Lions to Lutheran School state titles the past two years.
“(St. Peter’s coach) Rick Patberg was a great coach, and he prepared us really well for high school and just basketball in general,” Olivia said.
“High school ball is a whole ’nother world, especially going from JV to varsity,” Sydney added.
Columbus North’s Sydney Johnson brings the ball down the court against Martinsville at Columbus North, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
The Republic file photo
Olivia and Sydney have played some travel team basketball in the past, but they mostly have worked with their father Brad.
“We’ve played AAU, but just going to the gym with our dad over the years, we’ve found it to be more beneficial, just the one-on-one and getting to work with each other,” Olivia said.
All three of the Johnsons have started for the Bull Dogs at times this season. The trio make up a third of the Bull Dogs’ regular nine-player rotation.
“I think we were all looking forward to it,” Olivia said.
“Of course we have our sister fights and bickering, but it’s been really smooth for the most part,” Sydney added. “We’ve gotten to bond.”
Olivia sprained an ankle in practice before North’s scrimmage. She tried to play on it the first two games of the season, but it swelled, and she took a few games off before returning.
Sydney moved into the starting lineup following a season-ending ACL injury to junior Hadassah Hurt.
Columbus North’s Avery Johnson goes for a layup against Martinsville at Columbus North, Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
The Republic file photo
Avery has been coming off the bench of late. She is third on the team in scoring (7.3) and rebounding (3.8).
“Olivia had bad luck at the beginning of the year with her ankle injury, but she’s working her way back into the rotation,” White said. “Sydney has stepped in and started a number of games for us and has really played her roll well, and then Avery has done a lot of positive things for us, as well. She’s had a couple of games where she has been either first or second in scoring, and then in other games, she’s filled the role that we wanted her to do. They’ve all had positive contributions on our team this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing them continue to do that throughout the rest of the year.”
Olivia is one of only two seniors on the team. She and fellow senior Kaitlin White are co-captains.
“Every team has their ups and downs, and I feel like with injuries and sickness, it’s kind of been hard,” Olivia said. “Our team is really young. We have two seniors, so it was a little shaky at the beginning, but things are going up for the most part.”
“We started off rough and started picking it back up,” Avery added.
Basketball hasn’t been the only sport in which the Johnsons have competed. Olivia ran on the Bull Dogs’ state-qualifying 4×400-meter relay team in track as a freshman. Olivia and Sydney ran track the following year and did Unified track last spring. Avery and Sydney are considering running track this spring.
Olivia wants to go to Indiana University and study accounting next year. She and her sisters are hoping for a Conference Indiana title and a rematch in the sectional with Columbus East, which beat North in overtime last week.
“Obviously, winning conference is a big thing, and we want to get East back at sectional,” Sydney said.
