Sports

St. Peter’s sixth man signs with Delaware college

Something just felt all too right and all too homey for Melanie Johnson when the St. Peter’s senior guard visited Goldey-Beacom College last month.

“It’s small and I come from St. Peter’s and this is really small and I got used to it,” Johnson said.

It is one of the many reasons she signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at the Division II Delaware school on a full athletic scholarship. She is the third Eagles senior to do so. Forwards Catherine Lewis and Victoria Jones will be headed to Colgate and Pace, respectively.

“From the moment I left there I knew I loved it,” Johnson said.”

She was a key contributor off the bench the last two seasons for squads that finished a combined 47-7 and won the CHSAA Class AA Archdiocesan championship two years ago. This year Johnson averaged five points per game in a balanced attack and was always a threat from behind the arc.

She filled in for the injured Lewis at the end of the season. Johnson had nine points and a huge 3-pointer late in a win over South Shore and with Lewis back healthy she tallied a season-high 12-points in a CHSAA state quarterfinal win over Nichols of Buffalo. The Eagles won their 15th straight CHSAA Staten Island crown and fell to eventual state Federation Class AA champion Christ the King in the catholic state semis

“I just have to go and play my game, nothing really different,” the 5-foot-9 Johnson said of what is expected of her next season.

She chose Goldey-Beacom over Molloy College, saying the beautiful Delaware campus helped play into the fact that she wanted to get away from New York for school. Lightning coach Jennifer Carleton and her staff were very welcoming and Johnson, who said it was stressful waiting this long, fit in well with current player. Goldey-Beacom finished 17-12 overall and 12-7 in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference this winter.

“I felt part of the team already,” Johnson said.

It was just like home.