Lindsey Johnson and Mikayla Miller were recognized as All-Conference performers in the MIAC's postseason awards.
St. Peter, Minn. – Gustavus Adolphus junior forward Lindsey Johnson (Edina, Minn.) and first-year guard Mikayla Miller (Goodhue, Minn.) have been named to the 2014-15 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball All-Conference Team as a part of the league’s post-season awards released Thursday by the league office.
Lindsey Johnson finished second on the team in both scoring and shooting her junior year.
Senior guard Jenna Dockter (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) received the MIAC’s top honor as the conference’s Player-of-the-Year. Teammate and fellow senior Elaine Warner (Rosemount, Minn.) was recognized as the MIAC’s top reserve with the Sixth Player-of-the-Year award. Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn received the MIAC Coach-of-the-Year honor from her peers. All awards are nominated and voted on by the MIAC’s 12 head coaches.
Johnson and Miller are the fourth and fifth players to receive All-Conference honors under the direction of Head Coach Laurie Kelly who finished her third season at the head of the Gustavus women’s basketball program. The Gusties went 17-9 overall and ended up in a tie for third in the conference standings with a league record of 11-7.
Making her first appearance on the All-Conference Team, Lindsey Johnson finished second on the team in scoring (10 ppg) and field goal percentage (46.6%). Johnson reached double-figures in 11 games, which included a 28-point performance after going 11-for-15 from the field in a win over St. Kate’s on Jan. 24. She averaged 4.1 rebounds and led the team in three-point shooting with a 41.4-percent clip. Within conference play, Johnson averaged 10 points per game, and ranked 16th in the league in field goal percentage (43.9%) and seventh in three-point percentage (37.3%). The senior captain also shot 81.6-percent from the charity stripe, a mark that ranked fifth in the league.
An emerging star in the MIAC, Mikayla Miller is the only frosh to take home All-Conference honors this season. A member of the MIAC All-Rookie Team as well, Miller started in all 26 games and seemingly never came off the court with a 32.3 minutes per game average. She led the team in scoring 15 times, averaged 17.2 points per game, and on two occasions reached 30 points. Her season-best 31-point game (11-18 FG) against Carleton on Feb. 4 is a first-year record at Gustavus and ranks fourth all-time. In Gustavus single-season school history, Miller ranks ninth in points (446), sixth in free throws (100), and third in steals (78).
Mikayla Miller is the first Gustavus rookie to earn All-MIAC accolades in nearly 20 years.
Within MIAC play, Miller averaged 16.2 points per game (3rd) after scoring 291 points (2nd). She ranked second in the league in minutes per game (34.7), and third in both assists (69) and steals (49). She shot 36.9-percent from the field, 31.3-percent from beyond the arc, and 81.9-pecent from the charity stripe. Miller is the first Gustavus rookie to earn a spot on the All-Conference team since the 1996-97 season when Shelly Bishop garnered the distinction.
The Tommies lead the 18-player All-Conference team with four selections, and after that it was pretty balanced with 11 teams placing at least one player on the team. Bethel, Concordia, Gustavus and Augsburg each had two honorees and Saint Mary’s, Saint Benedict, Hamline, St. Olaf, Carleton and St. Catherine each had one player selected. The team included eight seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and one first-year player.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the ninth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for women’s basketball. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition. Representing Gustavus on this season’s All-MIAC Sportsmanship team is senior Maddie Ehrich of Eden Prairie, Minnesota.