Natalie Cleckley Jackson played four seasons on the Linganore High School girls varsity basketball team, which she captain her junior and senior years. She was the Frederick County Girls Basketball Player of the Year her senior year. Natalie went on to play power forward for Furman University. She was the recipient of the 1987-88 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year award. She later was the 1990-91 Southern Conference Player of the Year after earning first-team All-Southern Conference first-team honors in 1990-91 and second-team honors in 1988-89. During her junior year in 1989-90, Natalie helped lead Furman to its first Southern Conference basketball championship and first 20-win season (20-9). She led Furman in scoring and rebounding as a freshman and, as a senior, she paced the Paladins in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. She averaged 14.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per games over the course of her career. She was named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll and Furman’s Most Valuable Player in 1990-91. As a senior, she set Furman single-season records for points scored (575) and rebounds (356). She was inducted into Furman’s Hall of Fame in 1996.