May 9, 2007

NEWARK, NJ - Adriana Johnson, a senior at Pocono Mountain West High School in Pocono Summit, PA, has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and basketball career at New Jersey Institute of Technology, starting in 2007-08.

Johnson, a point guard, is the all-time leading girls scorer at Pocono Mountain West, finishing her career with 1,150 points in 105 games. As a senior, she averaged 16.5 points per game..

Although she is relatively short, at 5-foot-4, she was known in high school as a player who would never back down against bigger opponents. Johnson was a regular player for her high school as a freshman and started from her sophomore year on and post career averages of 4.2 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists and 2.9 steals.

"She will help us," said assistant coach Siobhan Kilkenny, who recruited and signed Johnson for NJIT. "She's an athletic true point guard who can shoot and she's a smart defender.

"She's a tough player who makes up for her size in aggressiveness. She's a player who puts pressure on the defense with the ability to make a three-point shot or go strong to the hoop."

A McDonald's All-America nominee, Johnson was Most Valuable Player of the Hoop Group Lehigh Valley Festival as a senior. A team captain her last three years in high school, Johnson collected numerous MVP, all-conference and all-tournament honors throughout her high school playing career.

Academically, Johnson, whose nickname is `AJ', ranks 50th in a class of 482 and has a cumulative grade point average of 3.70. Her intended major at NJIT is business management. A resident of Tobyhanna, PA, which is about 25 miles south of Scranton, she is the daughter of Joseph P. and Marcela Johnson.

She is the fourth high school senior this academic year to sign a National Letter of Intent with NJIT for women's basketball. Three seniors committed to NJIT in the early signing period. They are: guards Jessica Gerald (Woolwich Township, NJ/Kingsway Regional HS) and Keri Washington (Ewing, NJ/The Pennington School; and forward Maya Al-Shingieti (Vienna, VA/George C. Marshall HS).