Jan 28, 2026 3 min read

Name: Madison Johnson

Grade: Senior

School: Monessen

Sport: Basketball

Johnson’s week: Last Sunday, Johnson needed 12 points to achieve 1,000 for her career. In the fourth quarter she nailed a three-pointer and met the milestone, helping Monessen beat Ellis School, 31-24.

It was a kick starter to a great week for Johnson and the Greyhounds. Johnson had 30 points a day later in a 51-46 victory against Avella and scored 18 points to help Monessen finish off a 3-0 week with a 41-26 win against Mapletown.

“I was hoping to get it done, but the most important thing to me was getting the win,” Johnson said about her 1,000th point. “Then, I hit that three and my coaches called a timeout and then we finished the game from there.”

Since it was a road game she said she didn’t celebrate much except getting to go to her favorite Chipotle on the way home.

She plans on going out to a celebratory dinner with her family after Monessen’s next home game.

Happy reunion: Janine Vertacnik has returned to the sidelines to coach Monessen after a year off.

Johnson is happy to have her back on the bench as the Greyhounds’ coach.

“I feel like having her back has made a positive shift in everything,” Johnson said. “Practices are more intense. Everything is back to how it was my freshman and sophomore years. Her coming back has given us a winning mentality that makes us feel that we can beat anybody.”

That was the case last week when Monessen won three games.

“Before our games last week, coach told us we needed to go on a winning streak, so at practice we took everything very serious knowing we still had playoff hopes,” Johnson said. It was great to win two section games.”

Basketball family: Johnson is the youngest of five siblings and said she spent most of her childhood in the gym watching them play.

Her older sister, Hailey Johnson, had 1,000 rebounds at Monessen.

That’s translated to a burning passion for basketball. Johnson plays year-round. She plays fall league, summer league, outdoor leagues and on a pair of AAU teams.

“I was six years old going to my siblings’ AAU games every weekend and going to practices with them all week,” Johnson said. “I was the younger one practicing with middle schoolers and high schoolers. I built a love for basketball from watching my older siblings play.”

Snow day: Count Johnson as someone who welcomed the heavy snowfall that blanketed the area on Sunday.

With school being canceled Monday, she spent a good part of the day out in the snow.

“I’ve always liked the snow and playing in the snow,” Johnson said. “Even though I’m 18 years old now, the snow is still such a fun thing for me.”

Legoland: One of Johnson’s favorite hobbies is building Lego sets. Her favorite Lego sets are her large collection of race cars.

“That’s a hobby I’ve had since I was probably 10 years old. When I was younger I got this huge Lego Ninjago castle and ever since then have continued to build my collection. If I go to Walmart I’ll get a random set sometimes and build it.”

Compiled by Jerin Steele