North Carolina State University Athletics
Chemistry 2004-05
11/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - Chemistry is not just a subject or a science. The word chemistry can mean a bond between elements, whether scientifically or physically. For NC State, it is the bond between the 2004-05 women's basketball team members and coaching staff. The team feels better than ever about its chemistry heading into its 31st year as a program. Head coach Kay Yow has been her for 30 of them and knows exactly what team chemistry is. She is confident in saying this is one of the best chemistries she has had in quite some time as a team and likes the thought of what may come out of it.
"The team is one of the hardest working teams I have ever had," said Yow. "It's a team that has great chemistry and is very coachable. And all of those things really make me excited about this team."
Coach Yow has had plenty to be excited about as a head coach and as an elite member of the basketball world. She is well aware of knowing what to be excited about. To some being excited about a 30th year as a head coach or getting prepared to win a 600th career game, but Yow is much more focused on today and what her team has in store for her this year. Yow begins her 30th year with the Wolfpack Women on Nov. 19. It seems as though as she continues her career, the milestones come more and more frequently. Last year she coached her 850th career game and won her 650th, becoming the first ACC women's basketball coach to do so. And this year Yow needs four wins to become the fourth women's basketball coach in NCAA history to win 600 games at the same institution.
Yow's players, past, present and future, are all aware of her achievements, which brings to light her two current assistants. Both Jenny Palmateer, now in her sixth season, and Trena Trice-Hill, ready to begin her first at NC State, played under Coach Yow and now coach for her. The current players consistently say they come to play for NC State because of Coach Yow. So it is only fitting that this year she honor her supporters with her 600th win with the Wolfpack. And she will be in good hands with her current roster of 14 players, ready to embark on the adventure of helping Coach Yow reach her 600th win and beyond, including an 18th trip to the NCAA Tournament and perhaps the program's first NCAA championship.
"I have enjoyed coaching every single year for many years and have had the opportunity to be a part of some exciting moments," said Yow. "Currently, I am focused on my 30th year at NC State and I am really looking forward to what this year will bring!"
To Yow history is a link to the past, it helps the present and the future, but that is all. She is concerned with today only. Today, Yow is excited about the upcoming season. The 10 returning players and four newcomers that make up her squad are worth getting excited about. The squad has the depth, athleticism, hustle and determination needed to be successful and thus Yow is in good hands. Yow has left the doors wide open for her team entering the 2004-05 campaign.
"You just have those teams that you know click, and this is a team I feel that about," said Yow. "I don't hold anything back from a team that works and plays as hard as this team does, and the way they play together. The doors are wide open. I've not set any limits on this team."
Leading Yow's team will look to co-captains senior Kendra Bell and junior Rachel Stockdale for guidance. And they are both ready to not just step through the doors, they are ready to bolt through.
"This team has an amazing chemistry," said Bell. "There are no segregated groups of people, everyone gets along really well. If we aren't on the court playing together, we are all planning activities outside of the gym. Everyone knows we can lean on each other and we all share the same determination to play and work hard. "
"We want to leave it all on the court when the games are finished," Stockdale said. "I am really excited to see what this team can do. Preseason has been great and everyone has the same mindset and attitude. We are on the same page and it feels really good."
Bell and Stockdale will take on the new responsibility of leading a team, something they turned to their predecessors in previous years.
"This summer Rachel and I were talking and were looking around for Kaayla (Chones) and Nanna (Rivers) to do the leadership things," said Bell. "That was when we realized that we were now the leaders. We are both looking forward to it and have taken the new role seriously."
Bell returns at point guard, a position she has continued to improve in and from which she took a more formal leadership position. The guard from Fayetteville, N.C., is the returning assist maker, after tallying 84 last season. She can also shoot, hitting an average of 40 percent on 77-of-192 from the floor in 2004. That total includes a solid three-point shooting performance as she made 24 of her 60 attempts from the arc. In addition, despite her short stature, Bell gets in to rebound. She finished third overall last season in rebounding and surprisingly is the team's second-best returning rebounder with 90 total last year. She finished just two behind Dickens, who had 92 as a freshman.
Stockdale returns to a more formidable position this season, this year as a leader. She and Bell have been with this team the longest and will therefore be relied upon much more. The shooting guard came back last season after sitting out in 2002-03 due to several knee surgeries. And last year she was limited in minutes due to rehabilitation concerns. As one of the Wolfpack's top three-point threats and passers, Stockdale will again bring the same to the squad.
In chemistry, the reaction of two or more elements together results in the formation of a chemical bond between atoms and the formation of a chemical compound. For NC State the elements are Yow, Bell and Stockdale. The bond between them and the other coaches and players is a configuration built for success.
