Hall of Fame
Jeanne C. Johnstone ’84 – Class of 1995
Intensity…
Coaches recall her as a player who drew no distinction between practice and intercollegiate competition. To her, each was a contest; an occasion to match skills and the will to win; a chance to excel. No matter the opponent, she was driven to compete; to demand of herself no less than her best effort. She defined intensity on the basketball court.
Her time at Le Moyne, the early 1980’s, was an evolutionary period in women’s collegiate athletics. Respect earned in legislation had to be translated into respect earned through skill and competitive spirit. Under the tutelage of Don Cliffe, women on the basketball court in green and gold were evolving from club sport to intercollegiate competition, struggling to build a Division II-caliber schedule among the few colleges with varsity programs.
A cadre of talented young women saw to the success of this enterprise, and none was more capable than this sharpshooter. She was a deadly-accurate shooting guard in a low-scoring era with no three-point arc and rules not yet modified for women’s play. Still, her four-year, 84-game varsity career came within 20 points of the 1,000-mark. She converted 73 percent of her shots from the charity stripe, and she played with an intensity that drove teammates and competitors alike toward excellence.
Her career spanned the transition of women’s basketball at Le Moyne. A diversion became a sport; a scramble to find 20 legitimate games evolved into solid intercollegiate competition. A freshman year of games with community colleges and Division III opponents became senior year with a schedule as challenging as that faced by any Dolphin varsity. Yet athletic aid for women - - even stars - - was in short supply. She balanced two part-time jobs amid practices, games and studies. No matter the adversary she played the same game, a game that was consistently her personal best.
At a time when the women’s basketball program was expected to prove itself anew in every game, her senior-year coach Tom Cooney ’64 recalls her being as tough a competitor as Le Moyne has ever placed on the court. The Dolphin’s most potent scoring threat by far, she was the focus of every opponent’s defense. Still, game after game she responded with points, earning women’s basketball a permanent place on the Heights.
A player whose skill and intensity earned respect for women’s basketball and marked the transition of Le Moyne women’s athletics to serious intercollegiate competition,
Jeanne C. Johnstone ’84 is inducted into the
Le Moyne College Athletic Hall of Fame.
February 4, 1995
