Johnson Signs to Cross Border to Play for Lady Cavs

May 20, 2008

Front: Kayla Johnson signing with UVa-Wise head coach Rachel Clay-Keohane to her left. Back: Angela & Ricky Johnson, parents, and Phelps High head coach J.R. VanHoose.

Phelps, Ky. – Solid outside shooter Kayla Johnson signed to cross the border to play for the UVa-Wise women’s basketball team last week. The Phelps High guard averaged over 12 points per game for her last two years combined and becomes the fifth Lady Cavs 2008-09 recruit.

The Kentucky native will add another incoming talent to the UVa-Wise team. The Lady Cavs will return their top seven players to combine with the five newcomers for what should give great opptimism for the 2008-09 campaign.

"Kayla is a welcomed addition. She is a smart, well-rounded player who does not have to score to have an impact on her team’s success,” pointed out UVa-Wise assistant coach Doug Carter. “Kayla is a hardworker and gym rat-exactly the traits we look for in prospective Cavaliers.”

Johnson, a WYMT TV All-Mountain Team Honorable Mention selection, was a leader on the Phelps High squad and helped the team improve from five wins to 13 this past year. She averaged 13 points, six assists and five rebounds while shooting 45% from the field as a junior. In the 2007-08 season, Kayla dropped in 266 points (11.1 ppg), grabbed 82 rebounds (3.4 rpg), handed out 94 assists (3.9 apg) while making 46% (24 of 52) from three-point range and a solid 44% from the field (106 of 241).

“It is no surprise she plays the game with such a high basketball IQ, when you consider she has been coached by Phelps head coach J.R. VanHoose, former professional player and 1998's Mr. Basketball for the state of Kentucky and former UVA-Wise player Devin Layne," added Carter.

Johnson is the daughter of Ricky and Angela Johnson of Shelby Gap, Ky. and plans to major in biology/pre-medicine upon reaching the Wise campus.