North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Yow, Pack Hoping to Relive Fairy Tale
1/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
Nearly a year after one of the greatest days of her Hall of Fame career, NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow doesn’t quite know what to expect when her team faces No. 3 North Carolina Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum.
Last season, just weeks after returning from an extended leave of absence to fight her recurrence of breast cancer, Yow led her team to a stunning 72-65 Senior Night victory over the then-No. 2 ranked Tar Heels.
Before the game started, the court at the Wolfpack’s famed arena was named in Yow’s honor. Inspired, her team jumped out to as much as a 26-point lead in the first half, blitzing the Tar Heels, seemingly with pure motivation. In a season where every player, assistant coach and staff member laid bare their emotions in support of Yow’s courageous fight against cancer, the win over the arch-rival Tar Heels was a highlight.
At least until the Wolfpack beat No. 1 and previously unbeaten Duke a week later in the ACC Tournament and then advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
“Last year’s game was a fairy-tale game,” Yow said on Friday. “It was a perfectly written script. It couldn’t have been better in any way. It was an incredible victory.”
Of course, the Tar Heels probably remember the game just as vividly, and are looking for a measure of revenge in a building where they had previously won four consecutive games.
“I know
The Wolfpack (12-4 overall, 0-1 ACC) is coming off a 60-59 loss at
That injury has forced Yow to shift senior Khadijah Whittington to power forward and insert sophomore Chanita Jordan into the lineup at center.
“We had to shift our entire lineup,” Yow said. “We never had a chance to play and sort of get it together before the
“We were in the middle of the season, 15 games, and now we are asking [Whittington] who is doing great where she was to make some changes. We are trying to cut the changes down to as few as possible for her so she can just focus on the game. It’s almost like learning some things over again.”
That revamped front court will face one of the nation’s top one-two interior punches in North Carolina’s Erlana Larkins and LaToya Pringle, both of whom are averaging more than 12 points and seven rebounds per game.
“We have to be able to rebound with them and limit their second-chance points,” Yow said. “They have a great rebounding team and we will have to battle with them on the boards, because they also like to get the ball moving in transition. We can’t turn the ball over and let them get quick scores.”
For Yow, playing another rivalry game against the Tar Heels is energizing, even as she continues her battle with cancer. She recently changed chemotherapy drugs and is getting used to a whole new set of side-effects.
“I have to do that from time-to-time,” Yow said. “They are telling me there are fewer than a lot of the other drugs I have, which sounds like really good news. I am feeling really good.
“I’d feel even better if we play really well on Sunday.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@mindspring.com.
