ALBANY, NY – Before the Rider University women's basketball team took the court for the MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, junior guard Stella Johnson (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) was named the 2019 MAAC Player of the Year during the 2019 MAAC Postseason Award Show which was streamed on ESPN3.

Johnson becomes the second Bronc in the last three years and the second player in program history to be honored as the MAAC Player.

"We are incredibly proud of Stella for this amazing accomplishment," Rider Head Coach Lynn Milligan said. "She has steadily improved her game since last season with a tremendous amount of hard work and determination. She is as competitive as they come and is willing to do what it takes for her team to win.  A true sign of a great player is making others around you better. Stella does that every day."

Johnson was the only unanimous selection to the All-MAAC First Team. She earned end of the year accolades from the conference for the third year after landing on the Second Team last season and the All-Rookie Team as a freshman. Amongst qualified players, she leads ranks in the top-two in the MAAC in four different statistical categories. Stella leads the conference in points per game (18.6) and steals per game (2.7). She also ranks second in the MAAC in both three-point field-goal percentage (.391) and assists per game (4.5).

During the season, she was tabbed as the MAAC Player of the Week a conference-best five times. Stella was also recognized as the College Sports Madness MAAC Player of the Week five times and the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division I Player of the Week three times. She was the only player in the MAAC to pick up MBWA weekly honors this season. In mid-November, Stella was also honored as the College Sports Madness National Mid-Major Player of the Week after recording the second triple-double in program history.

Johnson is the first junior to garner MAAC Player of the Year honors since Damika Martinez in 2014.

Rider returns to action on Friday afternoon, March 8, taking on tenth-seeded Iona in the MAAC Tournament Quarterfinals at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY.