UNLV LADY REBELS SIGN NIA JOHNSON
Junior college transfer is first signee of the spring for the Lady Rebels
Nia Johnson will be the newest member of the UNLV women’s basketball team and the first recruited by new Lady Rebel head coach Lindy La Rocque, as the junior college transfer signed on Friday to play for the Scarlet & Gray for the 2020-21 season.
“We are so excited to add Nia to our Rebel Family,” said La Roqcue. “Nia is a dynamic scorer and winner. She has basketball experience and maturity that can have a great impact on our team right away.”
Johnson, a native of Sacramento, California, played her freshman season at CSU Bakersfield before transferring to Diablo Valley College for the 2019-20 season. She shined in her one year with the Vikings, claiming all-state first team honors as well as All-Big 8 Conference recognition after pacing the team in scoring with 20.9 ppg. That ranked her seventh in the CCCAA (California Community College Athletic Association), while she also added 7.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.5 steals per contest. She guided the team to a No. 3 ranking in the CCCAA and a 23-5 overall mark as the Vikings had reached the Elite Eight of the 2020 CCCAA tournament after winning second and third round games before the rest of the tournament was called off due to COVID-19.
As a freshman at CSUB, Johnson appeared in 28 games with one start, and finished the season with 54 points, 32 rebounds, 20 assists and 13 steals for the Roadrunners. She played her high school career at West Campus High School and was named DIII Player of the Year, league MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-Metro (2018) while leading the Warriors to a pair of state championship titles. Johnson was also a member of the Cal Ballaz AAU team.
Johnson will be the fourth player to join the Lady Rebels in the fall, along with fall signees Jade Thomas (Las Vegas), Desi-Rae Young (Las Vegas) and Jasmine Singleton (Goodyear, Arizona).