SECAUCUS, N.J. — Temeka Johnson, the point guard of LSU’s Lady Tigers basketball team for the past four seasons, was selected by the Washington Mystics with the sixth overall pick of the 2005 WNBA draft on Saturday afternoon.
Johnson, a 5-3 guard from New Orleans, La., became LSU’s highest pick in WNBA history and will join former Lady Tiger teammate Aiysha Smith with the Mystics. Smith, the seventh pick overall in the 2003 draft by the Mystics, was LSU’s previous highest selection.
“I hope to bring my determination and hard work, my work ethic with me to Washington,” Johnson said. “I’ve always been a leader. Leadership qualities are something that I bring. I can bring them to my new team along with the things I picked up along the way.
The Mystics posted a 17-17 record last season and finished fourth in the Eastern Division, losing in the opening round of the playoffs.
Washington opens the 2005 regular season on May 21 at Charlotte. The team’s first preseason game is scheduled for May 5 at Houston.
With the first-round selection, Johnson became the third player in Lady Tigers’ history to be a first-round selection. She joins Smith in 2003 and Marie Ferdinand who was taken with the eighth pick of the 2001 draft by Utah’s franchise which has since moved to San Antonio.
Johnson, a first-team All-America selection this past season, helped LSU to a 33-3 overall record, a second straight trip to the NCAA Final Four and the program’s first Southeastern Conference regular season title with a perfect 14-0 league record.
During the season she averaged 10.4 points and was second in the nation with 7.7 assists per game. Johnson also became the SEC’s career assist leader and finished her career ranked fifth in NCAA history in assists.