Inducted January 9, 2015
Donna Lohrey Classie excelled both on and off the court as a member of the Molloy College women’s basketball program from 2002-06. Her two 36-point outings in 2005 are both tied for the most points scored in a single game. An all-around guard averaging 16.0 points per game for her career (second-most all-time), she has scored the second-most points in program history (1,731). She distributed 487 career assists, which also ranks second all-time. In addition, Classie was one of the best from the charity stripe, holding the single-season record for free-throw percentage (.893), the career free-throw percentage record (.813) and the most career free throws made (501).
Adding to her accolades, she owns the fourth-highest career three-point percentage (.360) and the sixth-most steals (200) in program history. During the 2003-04 season, Classie averaged 19.1 points per game, which is the second-highest mark of any Lion for a single season. Her 142 assists are tied for second-most in a single season (2003-04).
Her success started early in her career, as she was awarded with the All-New York Collegiate Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year Award (2002-03). Twice, she achieved All-Met Basketball Writers Association First-Team honors and NYCAC First-Team honors. In addition to what she did on the hardwood, Classie exemplified what it meant to be a student-athlete. Besides being the 2006 graduating class’ Salutatorian (4.0 GPA), she was named the East Coast Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in her senior campaign, earned NYCAC Academic Honors in 2004-05, and was tabbed to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team and named an ESPN the Magazine District and College Division Academic All-American twice. She also was the 2004 Nassau County Sports Federation Female Collegiate Athlete of the Year Award winner.
While at Molloy, Classie was a member of the Molloy College Honors Program and served on many committees, including the Molloy Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Campus Concerns, Master Facilities and Planning, and the Student Outcomes Assessment committee. She was also a member of the Psi Chi, Delta Epsilion Sigma, Omicron Delta Kappa and Kappa Delta Pi Honor Societies. Classie graduated from Molloy College in 2006 with a degree in Psychology/Elementary Education.
Upon graduation, Classie received an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship where she went on to earn a Master’s degree from Adelphi University in Literacy Education with a 4.0 GPA. While at Adelphi, she began her teaching career in elementary education in the Malverne School District where she is currently a Reading Specialist. She also pursued her love of basketball and coaching by serving as assistant coach of the Adelphi women’s basketball team from 2006-2010. She returned to Molloy in 2010 as an assistant coach for three years.
While coaching at both Adelphi and Molloy, Classie says that the most rewarding experiences came from her work with the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation. After seeing a segment on BO’s “Real Sports” about a girl with pediatric brain cancer and the love and support she received from a local college lacrosse team, Classie reached out to the foundation and set up “adoptions” for both teams.
After taking a break from coaching, Classie achieved National Board Certification in the area of Literacy this past November. Classie married her husband, Dr. Justin Classie, in August 2011 and they are very excited for the arrival of their first child in June 2015.
