Liberty takes down Sam Houston 79-72

By The Associated Press
March 7, 2026 | 5:05 PM

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Zach Cleveland’s 19 points helped Liberty defeat Sam Houston 79-72 on Saturday.

Cleveland also contributed nine rebounds and nine assists for the Flames (25-6, 17-3 Conference USA). Brett Decker Jr. added 16 points and five rebounds. Colin Porter shot 4 of 12 from the field to finish with 15 points.

Veljko Ilic finished with 21 points and two steals for the Bearkats (21-10, 13-7). Jacob Walker added 13 points for Sam Houston. Kashie Natt had 16 rebounds and 11 points.

Liberty led Sam Houston at the half, 41-31, with Cleveland (12 points) its high scorer before the break. Cleveland’s layup with 1:39 left in the second half gave Liberty the lead for good at 70-68.

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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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