By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Western Illinois women’s basketball coach JD Gravina thought about just how close his team got to being stranded in North Dakota at Christmas this season. The Leathernecks were playing their first Summit League games of the season … Continue reading For Leathernecks, OVC Footprint Is A Better Fit
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Western Illinois was a charter member of the Mid-Continent Conference, the predecessor to the Summit League, when it was formed in 1982. Now the university has found a new home. Western Illinois will be joining the Ohio … Continue reading Western Illinois Leaves Summit League For OVC
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP You have to know Chad Boudreau’s roots to understand. Boudreau grew up in Farmington, Iowa, a town with a population of just under 600 people. He graduated from Harmony High School, which closed in 2016. Back in … Continue reading Boudreau Was The Right Choice For Leathernecks
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Rob Jeter was officially named the new head men’s basketball coach at Southern Utah on Sunday, ending his three-season run at Western Illinois. Jeter, who won 16 games in each of the last two seasons at Western … Continue reading WIU’s Jeter Takes Southern Utah Job
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Western Illinois University named Chad Boudreau the interim head men’s basketball coach on Friday as reports indicated Rob Jeter was finalizing a deal to become Southern Utah’s new head coach. Boudreau has been the Leathernecks’ associate head … Continue reading WIU Names Boudreau Interim Head Coach
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP The pain of tournament elimination grabbed Quinlan Bennett’s voice. Western Illinois was knocked out of the Summit League tournament with a 67-60 loss to St. Thomas on Sunday night but Bennett, a redshirt junior guard, wished the … Continue reading THE MONDAY TIPOFF: Loss To St. Thomas Doesn’t End Leathernecks’ Progress
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Western Illinois’ defense did what it could to slow St. Thomas in Friday’s Summit League Women’s Basketball Tournament first-round game. But the Leathernecks couldn’t capitalize on the other end. St. Thomas pulled away for a 61-50 win, … Continue reading ST. THOMAS 61, WIU 50: Leathernecks Can’t Feed Off Defense
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Western Illinois guard Trenton Massner broke a long streak for the Leathernecks on Thursday. Massner was named to the Summit League’s all-conference first team, the first Leatherneck honored on the first team since Ceola Clark and Terrell … Continue reading Massner Named To Summit League First Team
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP Iowa’s Caitlin Clark leads the nation in 3-point field-goal distance. The No. 2 player on that list is Clark’s former AAU teammate and high school opponent. “I mean, obviously, she’s probably the best player in the country,” … Continue reading WIU’s Deets Is In Good Long-Distance Company
By JOHN BOHNENKAMP It came up early in the interview as a side comment, so it had to be clarified later. Yes, Elizabeth Lutz said, her teammates sometimes call her, “Grandma.” “They do, unfortunately,” the Western Illinois fifth-year guard said, … Continue reading Decision To Stay Was Easy For WIU’s Lutz
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