North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Yow Celebrates 'Icing on Cake'
12/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. When Sunday’s game was over, and NC State’s 46-42 victory over Mississippi was written in the record books, legendary Wolfpack women’s basketball coach Kay Yow took some time to thank her staff and players.
She had already, as is her custom, thanked the fans, the cheerleaders and the pep band for their support, just like every other home game played at Reynolds Coliseum. But this was a little different.
How often does a coach get to thank those most responsible for winning such a milestone game, Yow’s 1000th career game at NC State? Only two other coaches in women’s basketball history Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and retired Texas coach Jody Conradt have ever coached this many games at the same school.
And Yow didn’t want this day to go by without a victory.
“I told [them all] I really appreciate that we could win the 1,000th game,” said Yow, her hoarse voice as sincere as ever. “It’s not every time when you have these milestones that you come out with a win. It’s sort of nice.
“It’s icing on the cake.”
Appropriately, immediately after the game, Yow was presented a large, iced sheet cake celebrating the 1,000th game, a remarkable testament to her longevity, endurance and passion for the game. Three other large cakes were served in the south end zone for those among the 1,079 spectators who remained at the end of the game.
Prior to the game, NC State athletics director Lee Fowler presented Yow with a dozen roses and a large vertical balloon in the shape of the numeral “1,000.”
“Anyone who coaches 1,000 games at any school in any sport has had a tremendous opportunity to positive affect the lives of a lot of young people,” Fowler said.
“Coach Yow remains a great inspiration because of her devotion and courage, someone who is such a positive representative of NC State and college basketball.”
ACC associate commissioner for women’s basketball Nora Lynn Finch, a former assistant under Yow and the Wolfpack’s long-time administrator for women’s basketball, basked in Yow’s spotlight. Finch, who left NC State in August to join the conference office, hasn’t see every one of Yow’s 1,000 games here.
But only Yow herself has attended more of them. What has always struck Finch about Yow, as a coach and as a person, is her faith and strength.
“The thing about Kay is that her strength is divinely inspired,” Finch said. “Her source of strength is God-given. Even as she has had to deal with increasingly difficult health issues, her spirit continues to stay strong.
“This game, in this place, at this time is something she has had her eye on for a long time. We are all fortunate that she is able to be here for us to celebrate it with her.”
For Yow, this most recent victory is as fresh her first game as the Wolfpack, a little more than 33 years ago, on Dec. 6, 1975, against arch-rival North Carolina.
“How can that be?” Yow wondered.
And even though it was a 74-61 loss in Chapel Hill, that game made her first team stronger strong enough to beat the Tar Heels twice later that season for the Wolfpack to claim its first state championship.
As always, Yow continues to adjust her program, her lifestyle, her game plan. Just minutes before Sunday’s 2 p.m. tip-off, Yow heard from the training staff that sophomore forward Tia Bell, a regular starter in the frontcourt, was suffering from back spasms and might not be able to play.
So she hurriedly changed her lineup, inserting Inga Muciniece in Bell’s spot. Adapting is what Yow does best.
Earlier this year, the coach abandoned the man-to-man defense that have been a hallmark of her program, realizing that her team could not be competitive playing the style she was used to just yet. Now, she’s ready to try again, along with a variety of zones that should keep opponents off guard.
“We have always been known for our defense and there was no reason why is shouldn’t continue that way,” Yow said.
The Rebels certainly had a tough time with those defenses in the first half, making just making just five of 37 shots from the field (13.5 percent). The Wolfpack, meanwhile, made 45.8 percent of its shots in building a 24-13 lead.
In the second half, the Wolfpack had some offensive issues of its own, going a full eight minutes without scoring and allowing the Rebels to close the gap to one possession late in the contest.
But senior Shayla Fields made sure that the lead stayed intact by scoring 10 of her game-high 17 points in the final four minutes of the game. Her final free throw with 11 seconds remaining was the 1,000th point of her career.
“That is something that will always be very special to me,” Fields said after becoming the 25th player in NC State history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. “It’s something no one can take from me, that I scored my 1000th point in Coach Yow’s 1000th game. I am thankful and blessed.”
And that’s how Yow felt to be a part of another game, her 637th victory as coach of the Wolfpack.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
