The history of sports in Northern Kentucky goes back a long way. A very long way. Decades. Centuries. 

We know you’ve seen these lists before, but this is a different and unique way of presenting our “50 sports icons in Northern Kentucky” as we’ll provide you one per day over the next 50 days. 

Hall of Fames are everywhere in NKY, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame, NKU, Thomas More and local high schools all have something to recognize their past.

We’ll preface this series by saying this, some of you may disagree with who should or shouldn’t be in the top 50 and that’s fine. Plenty are in the Hall of Very Good, but we feel these 50 are the one’s who stuck out to us.

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Sports Editor Evan Dennison spoke and conferred with several local NKY sports history buffs to get their opinions and lists of their own and who should be “locks” for the 50 sports icons. We compiled each list and came up with the 50 of our own (maybe cheated a little by putting families in as one) to present over the next 50 days.

Hope you enjoy as summer time rolls on!

The 19th of the 50 sports icons is Donna Murphy, the first-ever Miss Kentucky Basketball winner in the state.

DONNA MURPHY

Donna Murphy was a Miss Kentucky Basketball winner at Newport. Photo provided

Donna Murphy’s basketball journey is both trailblazing and transformative. A Newport native, Murphy became the state’s first-ever Miss Basketball in 1976 after averaging 35 points and 20 rebounds per game for Newport High School. That same year, she was one of just two high school players invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials. A year earlier, she had earned MVP honors at the 1975 Girls’ Sweet Sixteen after posting 67 points and 50 rebounds, despite her team’s narrow quarterfinal loss.

Murphy went on to dominate at Morehead State University from 1976–1980, finishing her career as the program’s all-time leader in points (2,059) and rebounds (1,442), setting 13 school records. A two-time OVC Player of the Year and the conference’s first-ever Female Athlete of the Year, she was also a two-time Kodak regional All-American and led the Eagles to a tournament title in 1978–79. She remains the only player in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds, and assists in the same season.

After graduating magna cum laude, Murphy played professionally for the WPBL’s St. Louis Streak before transitioning to coaching. Her college coaching résumé includes Kentucky, Florida, Memphis, Cincinnati, Morehead State, and Asbury University—where she started the women’s program. She also coached at the high school and AAU levels and now works in higher education and youth basketball development.

Murphy’s No. 44 jersey was retired by Morehead State in 1999, and she’s enshrined in 11 Hall of Fames. Today, her legacy lives on through the Donna Murphy Award, given to Kentucky’s top senior student-athlete.

See the 50 sports icons on a day-to-day basis over the next 50 days

— Day 1: Dave Cowens

— Day 2: Shaun Alexander

— Day 3: Homer Rice

— Day 4: Dicky Beal

— Day 5: Jared Lorenzen

— Day 6: Jim Bunning

— Day 7: Tom Ellis

— Day 8: Nate Dusing

— Day 9: Jim Connor

— Day 10: Steve Cauthen

— Day 11: Irv Goode

— Day 12: Stan Steidel

— Day 13: Kenney Shields

— Day 14: David Justice

— Day 15: Morgan Hentz

— Day 16: Eddie Arcaro

Already one of the pound-for-pound best in the game, UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja continued to prove on Saturday that he’s somehow getting better with age. 

Pantoja (30-5), the 35-year-old from Brazil, dominated Kai Kara-France on the ground before submitting him in Round 3 via rear-naked choke in the co-main event of a UFC 317 pay-per-view card from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The victory, which marked Pantoja’s fourth defense of his 125-pound title, also further established his name in the UFC flyweight record books as he moved into first place for the most victories (14), finishes (8) and submissions (6) in the division’s history. 

Just like in the opening round, Pantoja opened Round 3 by rushing Kara-France (25-12, 1 NC) with a flurry of strikes in order to back him up into the cage, From there, Pantoja took his opponent down and instantly took his back with a body triangle before slowing working his way into the choke. 

Pantoja, who has never been stopped in his 35-bout pro career, recorded his 12th career submission overall and his ninth via rear-naked choke.

“I am always training for this position but I still am evolving,” Pantoja said. “I come from American Top Team, which is the best team in the world. That’s my fourth title defense, I think I deserve a better ranking in the pound-for-pound.”

Pantoja hasn’t just evolved his fitness into world-class shape since winning the title, he has become far more efficient and confident in his attack. The champion visibly took his foot off the gas in a close Round 2 but still rallied to back Kara-France up in the final minute with kicks to the body, including one that left a bright red blotch on his opponent’s midsection. 

Kara-France, a 32-year-old from New Zealand, was fighting for just the third time since 2022 but secured the title shot based on his first-round knockout of former title challenger Steve Erceg last August. Kara-France, who lost for the third time in his last four fights, benefitted from the fact that Panotja entered 2025 with a 9-0 record against flyweights ranked in the top 10. 

After the win, Pantoja squared off with 23-year-old upstart Joshua Van, who scored the most impressive win of his young career earlier in the night when he outpointed No. 1 contender Brandon Royval in a fight of the year contender. Van (15-2), who stopped Bruno Silva just three weeks ago at UFC 316, filled in on late notice for an injured Manel Kape to secure a shot at Pantoja’s title.   

“[Van] is a humble guy, he deserves a shot at the title next,” Pantoja said. 

“[Pantoja] is a great champion but he ain’t never fought Joshua Van,” Van said.

SPOKANE, Wash. – The 3XBA single elimination tournament held seven highly contested games as 32 of the nations top women’s basketball players competed for the championship, a $20,000 cash prize, and a chance to compete in the FIBA Women’s series in Edmonton later this summer. The 3XBA is a FIBA sanctioned basketball league that also provides teams a path to compete for a spot in the Summer Olympics in 2028.

The Crown, The Chosen Ones, Coast 2 Coast, and B&B made it through their quarterfinal rounds to make the semi-finals. The Chosen Ones and Coast 2 Coast were the first semi-final of the day, where The Chosen Ones defense held The Crown to just seven points in the 14-7 win. They were led by Destanni Henderson and Azana Baines who provided the offensive push to get them to the championship game.

The second semi-final game featured Coast 2 Coast taking on B&B with the second spot in the finals on the line. B&B’s offense was too much for Coast 2 Coast to match as Amy Okonkwo scored five of her teams first six points and finished with 15 en route to the 22-12 win. 

The finals once again was the Amy Okonkwo show as she continued her dominating performance. The game was tight throughout, and tied with less than a minute remaining when Okonkwo converted a tough layup down low to give her team the 11-10 lead. A miss from The Chosen Ones and an insurance layup and pair of free throws from Okonkwo sealed the 14-10 win to capture the 3XBA Spokane Championship. 

Amy Okonkwo was named the 3XBA Spokane MVP after dominating throughout Saturday’s three tournament games and leading her team to a championship win where she scored the last four points for her team. B&B’s roster of Amy Okonkwo, Serena Sundell, Cailtin Bickle, and Kennedy Brown boasted tons of collegiate success that transferred to the 3XBA. Kennedy Brown also won the 2024 3XBA Invitational in Dallas, making Spokane her second win.

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