N.C. State head coach Kay Yow, 66, died Saturday morning after a decades-long fight with breast cancer.
Yow announced Jan. 7 that she was too weak to coach anymore and would re-evaluate her decision at the end of the season. A pioneer for the women's game, Yow coached the Wolfpack for 34 years and won more than 700 games, but her battle with breast cancer seemed to transcend the sport.
Yow was diagnosed with cancer in 1987. Her fight against the disease became most public in the 2007 season, when illness forced her to miss 16 games. Her return to coaching rejuvenated her team to win 12 of its final 15 games--including an ACC Tournament victory over then-undefeated Duke-before bowing out in the Sweet 16 to Connecticut.
"I have never seen anything like that in sports, where a team can pull together and play for someone," senior guard Abby Waner said. "I don't want to be cliché, but you can feel the inspiration that she gives to those girls. So when we lost to them, it wasn't fun to be on the other end of it, but it really, truly was a special thing to see the impact that she had on those girls."
Individuals throughout the ACC commended Yow's strength and her willingness to share her fight with the national community.
"The really great thing about her is that she had the courage to fight her battle in public," men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "As a result, she not only fought for her, she fought for everyone that has cancer or will have cancer and for the families who are involved. She created an amazing awareness of that fight and served as such a good example."
Joanne P. McCallie noted that one of Yow's greatest legacies will be "Think Pink", the initiative that encouraged women's basketball fans nationwide to wear pink to support the fight against breast cancer.
"I still can never get over how 'pink' took over," McCallie said. "The thing I'll always think about with Kay is how she made pink. She made pink something special. For the longest time, pink was something soft and feminine and suddenly it became this courageous fight that everyone's been united in, and that was one her many legacies. She made pink more beautiful than pink could ever be."
The Blue Devils played N.C. State last Monday, and McCallie's players left notes to express their admiration and well wishes for Yow, who was not in attendance.
"She's a person that I've admired for her strength, her faith through all of this," said Joy Cheek, who was recruited by Yow. "She had so much love for us, even as opponents, just women who play basketball. I think she is someone who will be greatly missed and my prayers go out to their team."
Duke honored Yow with a moment of silence before Saturday's men's game against Maryland and Sunday's women's game against Georgia Tech.
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