Bond leads Northern Iowa to 74-52 upset victory over Illinois State in MVC quarterfinals

By The Associated Press
March 7, 2026 | 1:33 AM

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Leon Bond III had 19 points in Northern Iowa’s 74-52 upset victory over Illinois State on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

No. 6 seed Northern Iowa advances to play No. 2 seed Bradley in a Saturday semifinal. No. 5 seed UIC and No. 9 seed Drake square off in the other semifinal.

Bond shot 9 for 13, including 1 for 4 from beyond the arc for the Panthers (21-12). Trey Campbell totaled 12 points and six rebounds, while Ben Schwieger scored 11.

Chase Walker led the way for the Redbirds (20-12) with 11 points and two blocks.

Northern Iowa took the lead for good with 19:44 left in the first half. The score was 35-27 at halftime, with Campbell racking up eight points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Cheryl Reeve steps away from the WNBA grind for a Hall of Fame induction

By The Associated Press
June 27, 2026 | 12:32 AM

Cheryl Reeve is taking a break from her busy WNBA season to head to Knoxville this weekend and be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. She's only the second WNBA coach to enter the Hall of Fame, joining former Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor, who was inducted in 2001. “(I appreciate) the magnitude of this recognition of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the great work that has gone into this institution,” Reeve said. “To walk around and see the history of how much has been done years before I could ever have this opportunity to coach. Grateful to the WNBA because I think there was some consideration given schedule wise.” Reeve will be joined by WNBA greats Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne in this year's class. Parker and Delle Donne also will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year. Other inductees include ESPN broadcaster Doris Burke, Kirkwood Community College coach Kim Muhl, Spanish star Amaya Valdemoro, French great Isabelle Fijalkowski and Clemson's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, Barbara Kennedy-Dixon.

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