The pair will be honored in April at the annual Hall of Fame Banquet
NEW CASTLE, Ind. – A pair of Purdue women’s basketball alumnae were named to the 2019 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame class Tuesday as Pat Grimm and Leslie Johnson join an elite list to wear the Old Gold & Black. The two are part of an 11-person class which will be inducted on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 18th Annual Women’s Awards Banquet.
Johnson was one of the most impressive freshman in Purdue history, leading the Boilermakers to their first NCAA Final Four appearance in 1993-94. She set Purdue freshman records of 628 points, 243 field goals, 141 free throws, 308 rebounds and 12 double-doubles, all of which still stand in the record books. Her 308 rebounds remain the third-highest single-season total in Boilermaker history and her 138 offensive boards are the most in a season at Purdue all-time. Johnson’s 628 points remain the No. 7 single-season mark all-time at Purdue, and her 243 field goals are sixth on the Boilermakers’ season record list.
The Boilermakers took home the second Big Ten Conference title in program history in 1993-94, going 29-5 overall and 16-2 in conference play, earning Purdue’s first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They rolled to the Final Four with wins over Radford, Washington, Texas A&M and Stanford before falling in the national semifinals to North Carolina. Johnson earned National Freshman of the Year honors from the USBWA, in addition to Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-America, NCAA West Regional Most Outstanding Player honors, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten recognition.
Grimm was one of the pioneers of Purdue women’s basketball, wearing the Old Gold & Black before the program earned varsity status in 1975-76. Before the institution of Title IX, Grimm played four years at Purdue, including a 1969 entry into the first women’s intercollegiate national tournament, earning a 6th place finish. With the introduction of women’s five-on-five play in 1970, she excelled as a double-figure scorer and standout passer and defender at the point guard position.
The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 18th Annual Women’s Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, April 27, 2019. The day’s events will include a free reception at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame museum that afternoon and a banquet that evening at the Primo Banquet Hall in Indianapolis. Reservations are available online now or through mail order in early 2019. Call the Hall at 765-529-1891, visit www.hoopshall.com/events or email [email protected] for more information.
