BY NATHAN SOLOMON, SPORTS EDITOR
The St. Bonaventure women’s basketball team triumphed for the third time this season, but Asianae Johnson’s career milestone topped the outcome of the game.
Johnson, a senior from Brooklyn, New York, scored her 1,000th career point in Wednesday’s 67-59 defeat of the Canisius Golden Griffins. It came on a driving layup just 90 seconds into the home contest, scoring off a missed Canisius shot. The bucket made her the 23rd Bonnie to surpass 1,000 career points.
“It’s actually pretty cool,” Johnson said postgame. “My grandmother on the phone didn’t even know either. She said she was very proud of me. It’s a blessing”.
Johnson scored 16 points off 6-of-11 shooting on Wednesday, hauling in eight rebounds on the historic night. She also connected on four of her seven free throw attempts.
“[It was] really just attacking and getting downhill,” Johnson said. “Just not settling and getting to the free throw line more was really just one of my goals”.
Johnson, a four-year starter, has made an impact ever since she’s donned the brown and white. She scored nearly 10 points per game off 40.4% shooting and allocated an A-10 Rookie of the Week award.
In year two, Johnson improved to scoring nearly 13 points per game, leading the Bonnies in scoring in its 7-23 season. She played over 30 minutes a game and pulled in over five rebounds.
Johnson turned into a star in her junior season, leading St. Bonaventure to six victories in the pandemic-shortened season. She scored 13.5 points per game en route to an all-conference third team selection. Johnson secured over four rebounds a game and averaged three assists.
And, to open her senior season, Johnson is averaging nearly 15 points through four games, including a season-high 19 points in a win over Siena.
“Production is very huge when it comes down to winning a game,” Johnson said. “You can’t win without scoring or putting the ball into the basket”.
Although many transfers comprise the St. Bonaventure roster, Johnson is one of coach Jesse Fleming’s talents recruited out of high school.
“Asianae Johnson has worked tirelessly for four years, so for her to get 1,000 points at home is huge,” Fleming said. “We haven’t had a ton of success over the last couple of years. [She] could be at a Power 5 right now. [She] has stuck by me.
“I’ve always had a soft spot for her. The journey that she’s taken to get here, and to watch her grow from a young from the city to an adult now. I love that kid to death”.
Under Johnson’s leadership on the court, the Bonnies’ look to post their best season in the Fleming era. The sixth-year coach has won no more than nine games in a season with St. Bonaventure, and Johnson’s performance has already gotten the team to three wins this season.
St. Bonaventure will look for its fourth win of the season when it travels to Binghamton University to play the Bearcats on Saturday.
solomonj20@bonaventure.edu
