Saturday, Apr 18, 2020
She becomes the first-ever Rider women's basketball player to be drafted into the WNBA
by Rider Sports Information
Rider University senior women's basketball guard Stella Johnson was selected 29th overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury on Friday, April 17. Johnson becomes the first-ever Rider women's basketball player to be drafted into the WNBA.
"I feel excited just to be able to get picked up by a team and get my foot in the door and show them what I've got," Johnson says. "But it was a cool feeling to see my name across the draft board. I feel like it's so cool. I've gotten a lot of texts saying, 'you're playing with all the legends like Griner, Taurasi and Diggins-Smith.' I think it's just an opportunity to learn from three of the great players in the WNBA. I think it's just awesome to be a part of."
Rider's first-ever All-American in women's basketball, Johnson surpassed 2,000 career points, while earning All-America Honorable Mention honors from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). She was also picked a Senior CLASS Award Second-Team All-American. Johnson became Rider's first-ever All-American in women's basketball.
Johnson earned MAAC Player of the Year for the second-straight season, becoming the sixth player all-time to achieve the feat in back-to-back years. She was a finalist for both the Nancy Lieberman Award and Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year.
"Stella's represented this program better than anybody could've imagined and she'll continue to do that," says Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan. "Arizona is going to know where Rider is really quick. Stella's going to make an impression on Phoenix. She's going to make an impression on Arizona. And they're going to love her out there. She's going to play the way she's supposed to. And I think those veteran players are going to like that a young player can come in and just do her job and find her role and find her place and have the attitude of, "Hey, what do you need from me to help us win?' That's what Stella has and she's going to represent Rider well doing that the way she always has."
Johnson finished the year as the leading scorer in NCAA Division I at 24.8 points per game, more than a point ahead of the next-closest player. She was also the only active Division I player with 2,000 career points, 700 career rebounds, 400 career assists and 300 career steals.
In her final game of the season, Johnson set a new league record for a single game, scoring 37 points in the Broncs' MAAC Quarterfinal win over Niagara. All nine of her double-doubles came against conference opponents, including her Feb. 29 triple-double against Canisius. Besides scoring, she also led the MAAC in steals per game (2.9) and minutes per game (37.1).