Lobos Add Three to 2022-23 Roster
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— University of New Mexico women’s basketball head coach Mike Bradbury and staff have added three to the 2022-23 roster, adding a New Mexico native in Amaya Brown as well as another veteran guard in Nia Johnson and height and a rebounder in Hulda Joaquim.
Amaya Brown | 5-11 | G | Albuquerque, N.M. | Florida State
The Lobo women’s basketball team added a player that needs no introduction to New Mexico fans in Albuquerque native Amaya Brown.
From Cibola High School, Brown was a top-100 player according to ESPNW’s Hoopgurlz rankings and was a two-time New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year (2015-16, 2017-18). In addition, the newest Lobo left Cibola as the school’s all-time leading scorer and set a state single-season record with 435 rebounds during the 2017-18 season. As a senior, she also averaged 19.9 points per game, 4.0 steals per game and 2.9 assists per game as Cibola went 26-3. She was also a three-time all-state honoree and three-time District Player of the Year.
Further, Brown adds to the list of New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year winners to play for UNM, with Jaedyn De La Cerda (2016-17 winner) and Viané Cumber (winner in 2019-20 and 2020-21). With the addition of Brown, a Lobo has earned the award five out of the six years during the 2015-16 to 2020-21 period.
Before signing with UNM, Brown spent the previous three seasons at Florida State, appearing in 44 games with three starts as a freshman for the Seminoles.
Brown’s signing also signifies not only another local Lobo, joining Cumber, Natalia Chavez and Jaelyn Bates as Albuquerque natives on the roster, it also adds another legacy player as there are now two Lobos on the 2022-23 roster whose father played at UNM (joining Hannah Robbins). Greg Brown played at UNM from 1992-94, leading the Lobos in scoring in 1993-94 in points (599, 19.3 points per game) en route to WAC Player of the Year.
Nia Johnson | 5-8 | G | Sacramento, Calif.| UNLV
Johnson most recently played at UNLV, where the guard was named to the Mountain West All-Conference Team after starting 24 games and averaging 12.1 points per game. In addition, Johnson produced 16 double-digit scoring games and averaged 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
In conference games, Johnson averaged 13.6 points per game with three, 20-point games, and made 34 three-pointers (1.9 three-pointers per game), finishing with the sixth-most overall three-pointers and tied for seventh in three-pointers per game in the conference. Johnson shot 32.8 percent from beyond the arc at UNLV, making six three-pointers in a game twice, finishing with 28 points in both games. During her junior year, Johnson earned MW Player of the Week.
Prior to playing for the Lady Rebels, the California native averaged 20.9 points per game and was a Big-8 All-Conference player at Diablo Valley College. She finished with double-digit points in 25 games, with 15 games of 20-plus points and six games of 30-plus points. Johnson wasn’t just effective scoring, but also crashed the boards, finishing the season with nine games of 10 or more rebounds and averaged 7.6 rebounds per game. Johnson proved to be an all-around player, as she averaged 4.5 steals per game and averaged 4.0 assists per game.
Hulda Joaquim | 6-1 | F | Maputo, Mozambique | Seward County Community College
Joaquim joins the Lobos out of Seward County Community College (Liberal, Kan.) after playing 31 games with 27 starts as a sophomore. Averaging 20.7 minutes per game, Joaquim averaged 6.9 rebounds per game, 6.0 points per game and 1.3 steals per game.
From Mozambique, Joaquim brings international experience, having played with the Mozambique National Team at the 2019 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup. In seven games, Joaquim averaged 6.1 rebounds per game with two games of 10-plus rebounds (12 vs. Latvia and 11 vs. Korea) and averaged 21.0 minutes per game. In addition, she scored 16 points in the opening game against Thailand and created two steals against Latvia.
She also played in the 2018 FIBA U18 Women’s African Championship, averaging 6.1 rebounds per game, 5.7 points per game and 1.5 steals per game in 25.1 minutes per game. Joaquim recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the semifinal against Angola and recorded nine rebounds in the final against Mali. Her defense was also on display against Rwanda with 10 rebounds and three steals.
Joaquim attended Nelson Mandela Secondary School in Maputo.