By: Aury St. Germain
KENNESAW, Ga. –
Amani Johnson was named the unanimous ASUN Freshman of the Year, the conference announced today (March 7).
"Congratulations to Amani. I am so happy for her to come to KSU and get this ASUN Freshman of the Year award. Amani has amazing skill for a freshman and is willing to work on her game to improve, said head coach
Agnus Berenato. "Leadership is key when you run the team, and Amani is a natural leader. Named a captain because of her leadership, Amani must excel on and off the court, which she has done. Amani has a terrific work ethic and gets better every day she attends practice. Not only is she a great player, but a great person."
Johnson garnered the program's third-straight Freshman of the Year award, joining
Carlotta Gianolla (2016-17) and
Kamiyah Street (2017-18) as the Owls to capture the accolade. She's the fourth Owl to earn the award.
Earlier this week, the rookie was named ASUN Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season, which stands as a conference record.
The North Versailles, Pa., native made an immediate impact for the Owls, scoring 9.3 points per contest and dished five-plus assists in her first four games for an Owl.
"I am extremely proud of my staff, Associate Head Coach
Khadija Head and Coach Baker and Montgomery and thank them for the work they have invested in every player on our team. For the third-straight year KSU has had the ASUN Freshman of the Year and representation on the All-Freshmen Team," said Berenato.
She finished the season netting 9.6 points per game, which led all freshman in the ASUN, and logged 4.4 assists per game, which was second in the ASUN overall and ninth in the country for freshman.
Johnson was no stranger to the court for Kennesaw State during the season, as she averaged 37:58 minutes per game, which led the ASUN and checked in at 12
th in the country. She also ranked 10
th in the nation in the total minutes played, logging 1089 minutes during her freshman campaign. Johnson ended the season playing 40-plus minutes in 12 games.
Active on the defensive end, Johnson ended the regular season second in the ASUN in steals (68) and steals per game (2.34).
"This is solely due to the recruiting efforts and on court work of my staff. KSU is learning to compete and it is a building process, however, today is a great day for our women's basketball program," said Berenato.
She looks to lead the Owls over Stetson in the ASUN Tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. Kennesaw State comes into the contest as the No. 7 seed while Stetson earned the No. 2 seed.
