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).