Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Johnson selected preseason all-conference
10/17/2018 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders picked third
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee senior standout Alex Johnson has been selected to the 2018-19 C-USA Women's Basketball Preseason Team as announced by the league office Wednesday.
Johnson is Middle Tennessee's only representative on the eight-person team as selected by C-USA's head coaches.
Middle Tennessee was picked to finish third in a preseason vote of the league's head coaches. Defending regular-season champion UAB was picked to repeat with eight first-place votes, and Rice was tabbed second with five first-place votes. The Lady Raiders picked up the remaining first-place vote.
Based on the preseason all-conference team and preseason poll it is evident coaches expect another tightly-contested race for the regular-season crown, and they expect the league's veterans to be the impact players as seven of the eight were all-conference performers last season.
"It is tough to land a spot on that preseason team because there are only eight players selected and there are 14 teams in the conference," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell said. "Alex has proven to be one of the league's top performers during her career. She is deserving of her selection on the preseason team, as are all of the players on that list."
Johnson has produced 68 double-figure scoring games and looks to become just the fourth player in program history to amass 2,000-plus points in a career. The dominant post players enters her senior season with 1,356 points, which is 18th on the all-time scoring list.
Johnson was sidelined for most of last season after sustaining an ankle injury in the season opener at Vanderbilt. She still managed to make the all-conference team after averaging 13.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. Johnson returned to form down the stretch when she averaged 19.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in the final eight games.
"I appreciate the recognition of being honored along with some really outstanding players from our conference," Johnson said. "It seems like we have been competing against a lot of those players for the past few years. Last year was difficult with the injuries not only to myself, but we also had several other key players out due to injury. We are ready to put last season behind us and finish strong in 2018-19."
The Lady Raiders have six newcomers to join nine returners for the 2018-19 season. Insell said he expects to receive contributions from a mix of veterans and newcomers throughout the season.
Middle Tennessee will open the 2018-19 campaign with the first of two exhibition games when they play host to Lindsey Wilson, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m.
2018-19 C-USA Preseason Team
Laia Raventos, Charlotte, Sr.
Kierra Anthony, LA Tech, Sr.
Alex Johnson, Middle Tennessee, Sr.
Terriell Bradley, North Texas, Sr.
* Erica Ogwumike, Rice, Jr.
Shonte Hailes, Southern Miss, Jr.
Deanna Kuzmanic, UAB, Sr.
Rachael Childress, UAB, Jr.
* - Preseason Player of the Year
2018-19 C-USA Preseason Poll
1. UAB (8)
2. Rice (5)
3 Middle Tennessee (1)
4. WKU
5. Charlotte
6. LA Tech
7. North Texas
8. Southern Miss
9. Florida Atlantic
10. UTEP
11. Old Dominion
12. UTSA
13. Marshall
14. FIU
() first-place votes
Johnson is Middle Tennessee's only representative on the eight-person team as selected by C-USA's head coaches.
Middle Tennessee was picked to finish third in a preseason vote of the league's head coaches. Defending regular-season champion UAB was picked to repeat with eight first-place votes, and Rice was tabbed second with five first-place votes. The Lady Raiders picked up the remaining first-place vote.
Based on the preseason all-conference team and preseason poll it is evident coaches expect another tightly-contested race for the regular-season crown, and they expect the league's veterans to be the impact players as seven of the eight were all-conference performers last season.
"It is tough to land a spot on that preseason team because there are only eight players selected and there are 14 teams in the conference," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell said. "Alex has proven to be one of the league's top performers during her career. She is deserving of her selection on the preseason team, as are all of the players on that list."
Johnson has produced 68 double-figure scoring games and looks to become just the fourth player in program history to amass 2,000-plus points in a career. The dominant post players enters her senior season with 1,356 points, which is 18th on the all-time scoring list.
Johnson was sidelined for most of last season after sustaining an ankle injury in the season opener at Vanderbilt. She still managed to make the all-conference team after averaging 13.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. Johnson returned to form down the stretch when she averaged 19.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in the final eight games.
"I appreciate the recognition of being honored along with some really outstanding players from our conference," Johnson said. "It seems like we have been competing against a lot of those players for the past few years. Last year was difficult with the injuries not only to myself, but we also had several other key players out due to injury. We are ready to put last season behind us and finish strong in 2018-19."
The Lady Raiders have six newcomers to join nine returners for the 2018-19 season. Insell said he expects to receive contributions from a mix of veterans and newcomers throughout the season.
Middle Tennessee will open the 2018-19 campaign with the first of two exhibition games when they play host to Lindsey Wilson, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m.
2018-19 C-USA Preseason Team
Laia Raventos, Charlotte, Sr.
Kierra Anthony, LA Tech, Sr.
Alex Johnson, Middle Tennessee, Sr.
Terriell Bradley, North Texas, Sr.
* Erica Ogwumike, Rice, Jr.
Shonte Hailes, Southern Miss, Jr.
Deanna Kuzmanic, UAB, Sr.
Rachael Childress, UAB, Jr.
* - Preseason Player of the Year
2018-19 C-USA Preseason Poll
1. UAB (8)
2. Rice (5)
3 Middle Tennessee (1)
4. WKU
5. Charlotte
6. LA Tech
7. North Texas
8. Southern Miss
9. Florida Atlantic
10. UTEP
11. Old Dominion
12. UTSA
13. Marshall
14. FIU
() first-place votes
Players Mentioned
F
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