North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Basketball History of Success
8/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
There are only a handful of women’s basketball programs that have accomplished more than the one right here at NC State.
And proof is in the numbers. 22 20-win seasons, 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, 11 “Sweet 16” berths and a Final Four run in 1998, seven top-10 national finishes, five ACC Championships and four ACC Tournament titles. That is just a snapshot of the success the Wolfpack Women have enjoyed dating back to 1974.
15 former players have gone on to either coach or play in the WNBA and there has been 56 All-ACC and 34 All-ACC Tournament honorees.
Twice, NC State players have been named ACC Player and Rookie of the Year, and four have earned MVPs of the ACC Tournament.
In addition, four players have been honored with the esteemed Kodak All-America award. Her players have also represented the United States in international play, including the Jones Cup, USA Select National Team, Olympic Sports Festival, US Junior National Teams, Olympic Trials and the Pan American Games.
Academically 92 Wolfpack Women have been named to the ACC Honor Roll.
The following is a small sampling of NC State Wolfpack Women’s basketball:
December 7, 1974: The first game in NC State women’s basketball history is played against Virginia at Reynolds Coliseum. Coach “Peanut” Doak leads the Wolfpack to a 57-45 victory over the Cavaliers.
July 1, 1975: Willis Casey hires Kay Yow to be the head coach of the women’s basketball program at NC State. She was also installed as the head coach of both the softball and volleyball teams and was the coordinator of women’s sports for the Pack.
December 6, 1975: Coach Yow coaches her first game at NC State, opening the season at North Carolina.
January 10, 1976: Coach Yow records her first win at NC State, 68-64, over College of Charleston at Reynolds Coliseum.
January 27, 1976: The first televised women’s basketball game in the state of North Carolina pitted the Wolfpack women against North Carolina at Reynolds Coliseum. NC State came up with its first-ever victory over the Tar Heels, 68-58. The game was broadcast live on Public Television.
March 13, 1976: Cristy Earnhardt becomes the first women’s basketball player at NC State to score 40 points in game when she tallied 41 in a 74-67 win over Norfolk State during the AIAW Region II Tournament in Cullowhee, N.C.
1975-76 Season: Susan Yow, younger sister of Coach Yow, becomes the first NC State women’s basketball player to earn national recognition when she is tabbed a Kodak All-American. She averaged a team-best 19.4 points and 11.9 rebounds in her only season with the Red and White. Yow still holds the school record with 27 rebounds in a game against East Carolina on January 17, 1976.
December 21, 1977: The Pack wins its first Atlantic Coast Conference game with an 84-82 decision over Clemson.
January 12, 1978: NC State defeats No. 1 Wayland Baptist, 98-86, for its first ever win over the top-ranked club in the nation. It will be nearly 30 years until the Pack does it again. You can read about that later in the timeline.
March 18, 1978: The Wolfpack women advance to the Elite Eight of the AIAW Tournament before bowing out to second-ranked Wayland Baptist, 72-55.
1977-78 Season: NC State wins the inaugural ACC title with a perfect 9-0 record in the league's first season of women's basketball competition. Genia Beasley becomes the second Kodak All-American in program history after averaging 19.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Coach Yow is selected North Carolina Coach of the Year by the Kellogg Company. The team finishes the season ranked No. 3 nationally.
November 26, 1979: Coach Yow records her 100th victory at NC State with a 98-74 win over Mississippi.
December 1979: NC State hosts the Russian National Team with 7-foot-2 center Uliana Semenova. Though the Pack fell 109-79, NC State still scored more points against the Soviets than any other team on their American tour. The Russians went on to win the Olympic gold medal in the summer of 1980.
February 10, 1980: NC State wins its first ACC Tournament Championship with 85-75 victory over Maryland on the Terrapins’ home court at Cole Field House. Genia Beasley played all 40 minutes and scored a team-high 28 points.
February 16, 1980: The Wolfpack completes another undefeated regular season for its second regular season ACC title in the last three seasons.
1979-80 Season: The club finished 28-8 overall and was selected No. 10 in the final Coaches’ Poll. The Wolfpack captured its fifth consecutive NCAIAW Tournament championship.
February 7, 1981: Trudi Lacey ties the school’s scoring record when she pours in 41 points against Mercer. The Pack would need everyone one as they squeaked by, 90-89, over the Bears at the Optimist Classic in Norfolk, Va.
February 14, 1981: Trudi Lacey becomes the only Wolfpack and ACC player to be named to the ACC Tournament team four consecutive times.
March 13, 1982: The Wolfpack women play its first NCAA Tournament game, defeating Northwestern, 75-71, in Reynolds Coliseum.
March 5, 1983: Linda Page sets the ACC Tournament record for points scored in a game with 42 in a semifinal contest against Clemson.
November 26, 1983: Coach Yow reaches the 200-career win milestone with 60-54 victory over Miami during a Wolfpack doubleheader in Raleigh.
1983-84 Season: With an impressive 12-1 mark against the ACC, the Wolfpack claimed the regular season title for a third time in program history. Sophomore sensation Linda Page led the way by averaging 23 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and received the ACC Tournament MVP award, despite the Pack finishing as the runner-up.
February 23, 1985: The Pack clinched the school's fourth ACC regular season championship with a 78-70 win over No. 16 Virginia, which gave NC State a program best 13-1 league mark
March 3, 1985: NC State won its second ACC Tournament title with a nail-biting 81-80 victory over North Carolina in Fayetteville, N.C.
March 15, 1985: The Wolfpack extended its longest all-time winning streak to 15 games with a 67-63 victory over Saint Joseph’s in the NCAA first round.
January 2, 1986: Coach Yow posts her 250th win as NC State’s coach at Georgia Tech with a 77-69 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Summer 1986: Coach Yow heads up the Goodwill Games and World Basketball Championship teams to gold medals. During the inaugural Goodwill Games in Moscow, Russia, the United States broke a 152-game, 28-year Soviet winning streak against international competition by trouncing the host country, 83-60.
March 2, 1987: NC State captured its third ACC Tournament title with a 57-56 victory over Virginia in Fayetteville, N.C. Trena Trice, Annemarie Treadway, Carla Hillman, Angela Daye and Mary Lindsay become the only players in school history to play on two ACC Championship teams. Trice was named an all-American by averaging 18.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per contest.
February 18, 1988: Coach Yow earns her 100th ACC victory with a 62-61 win over Wake Forest at Reynolds Coliseum.
September 1988: Coach Yow leads the Unites States Olympic team to a gold medal in Seoul, South Korea. Just as the USA women's basketball team t-shirts proclaimed, the 1988 USA Olympic squad had one thing in mind: "Sole Goal - Seoul Gold." The team went 5-0 in the competition and earned the gold with a 77-70 win over Yugoslavia.
December 3, 1989: Andrea Stinson sets a school and ACC record by scoring 50 points in an amazing overtime game in which the Pack fell 112-111 at Providence. She also set an ACC standard with 21 made field goals. Both records still stand today.
1989-90 Season: NC State won its fifth regular season ACC Championship by going 12-2 in league play. Andrea Stinson was a consensus All-American after averaging over 21 points and five assists per game. Coach Yow was named the Converse/WBCA Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
December 1, 1990: A battle of two heavyweights squared off before 7,340 fans in Reynolds Coliseum as the seventh-ranked Wolfpack hosted No. 3 Tennessee. Andrea Stinson led five players in double figures with 28 points to in a 90-77 victory over the Lady Vols. NC State vaulted to No. 2 in the polls two weeks after the win. It marked Yow’s third victory over Pat Summitt. UT went on to win its third title in a five-year span.
December 8, 1990: The Pack sets an ACC record that still stands today for most points scored in a game with a 137-65 victory at Western Carolina. Six players score in double figures, including 32 by Rhonda Mapp and 28 by Andrea Stinson.
December 25, 1990: Coach Yow notches her 400th career win by downing Western Kentucky 100-76 in Hawaii.
January 12, 1991: In what some consider the greatest women’s basketball game in college basketball history, 11,520 spectators at Reynolds Coliseum were treated to a triple-overtime thriller featuring the third-ranked Wolfpack and No. 2 Virginia. 11 scored in double figures and five players fouled out in the 123-120 Cavalier victory. The 243 total points scored is an ACC record.
March 4, 1991: The Wolfpack captured its fourth ACC Tournament title by downing Clemson 84-61 in the championship game in Fayetteville, N.C.
1990-91 Season: NC State was the only ACC team to finish the regular season with a perfect non-conference record (14-0) and opened the season winning 10 straight games, the best start in school history. The Wolfpack was ranked as high as second in the nation for four consecutive weeks. Andrea Stinson becomes the only Pack player to repeat on the Kodak All-American team after averaging 22.8 points and 4.2 assists per game.
December 8, 1993: Coach Yow wins her 400th game at NC State with a 92-91 overtime victory over North Carolina A&T.
1993-94 Season: Freshman Jennifer Howard sets the ACC single-season record with a 92.9 percent (118-for-127) free throw shooting percentage.
January 15, 1996: Coach Yow earns her 500th career win with 68-63 victory over
Georgia Tech.
November 28, 1996: For the second time in her career, Jennifer Howard canned nine 3-pointers in a game to set an ACC single-game record. Ironically, both occurrences happened against Syracuse in back-to-back seasons.
March 15, 1997: In her final game with the Wolfpack, Jennifer Howard makes her 315th and final 3-pointer – an ACC record that stood until 2007. Howard is still the league’s record holder with a .439 (315-717) 3-point shooting percentage.
April 28, 1997: The WNBA conducts its first draft and was well represented by former Wolfpack standouts. The Charlotte Sting selects Andrea Stinson, Sharon Manning and Rhonda Mapp, while Trena Trice-Hill (New York Liberty) and Umeki Webb (Phoenix Mercury) are also tabbed in the inaugural draft.
March 21, 1998: NC State had a date with second-ranked Old Dominion in the NCAA East Regional in Dayton, Ohio. Summer Erb and Tynesha Lewis combined for 30 points in a 55-54 win over the Monarchs, sending the Pack to its first “Elite Eight” appearance.
March 23, 1998: Next up for the Wolfpack was an encounter with third-ranked Connecticut with a berth in the Final Four on the line. Chasity Melvin led all scorers with 18 points in the 60-52 win and was named MVP of the East Regional.
March 27, 1998: Chasity Melvin put forth her best career performance in front of 17,233 fans in Kansas City, Mo. Though it wasn’t enough to get the Wolfpack to the championship game or a win over Louisiana Tech, falling 84-65, it did earn Melvin a spot in the record books for years to come after scoring 37 points in 40 minutes of work, a single-game NCAA semifinal record. It was a fine way to top off her all-American season.
1997-98 Season: Coach Yow named College Sports News Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. NC State finishes No. 10 in the final national poll
December 28, 1998: Coach Yow wins her 500th game at NC State with a 66-57 win over New Hampshire making her just the third coach to win as many games with one team.
January 24, 1999: Coach Yow becomes the second coach to reach 200 career ACC victories with an 85-60 win at Wake Forest.
April 6, 1999: Chasity Melvin is drafted in the first round of the WNBA draft by the Cleveland Rockers.
January 9, 2000: The Wolfpack improves to 14-0 to set the programs best start to a season with a 71-52 victory over Maryland.
February 13, 2000: NC State retired the first class of women’s basketball jerseys in school history: Genia Beasley, Trudi Lacey, Chasity Melvin, Linda Page, Andrea Stinson, Trena Trice and Susan Yow.
April 2000: Coach Yow was honored with John and Nellie Wooden National Coach of the Year Award and the National Coach of the Year award by Sports Illustrated for Women.
April 25, 2000: The Charlotte Sting selects Summer Erb in the first round of the WNBA draft.
June 9-10, 2000: Coach Yow is among 24 players and coaches inducted into the second class of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
March 18, 2001: Carisse Moody and Tynesha Lewis combine for 43 points to send the Wolfpack back to the Sweet 16 with a 68-64 win over Villanova in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh.
April 20, 2001: The Houston Comets select Tynesha Lewis in the second round of the WNBA Draft.
September 25, 2002: Nine players (Genia Beasley, Summer Erb, Trudi Lacey, Rhonda Mapp, Chasity Melvin, Linda Page, Andrea Stinson, Trena Trice and Susan Yow) were named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Women’s Basketball team, the second most of all ACC institutions.
September 27, 2002: Coach Yow is enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame with the Harlem Globetrotters, coaches Larry Brown and Lute Olson and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
November 24, 2002: The first Jimmy V Classic takes place at the RBC Center with the Pack hosting defending national-champion Connecticut.
January 21, 2003: Genia Beasley, Chasity Melvin and Andrea Stinson was voted an ACC 50th Anniversary Top 50 Female Athlete.
2003-04 Season: Coach Yow becomes the first ACC women’s mentor to coach 900 games and to win 600 games at the same school. NC State made its 17th NCAA appearance and posted its 27th winning season overall.
April 17, 2004: The Washington Mystics select Kaayla Chones in the second round of the WNBA Draft.
December 2, 2004: Coach Yow recorded her 600th win at NC State with a 65-36 victory over Seton Hall at Reynolds Coliseum.
January 22, 2006: Coach Yow takes the court for her 1,000th career game when NC State defeated Dartmouth, 78-43, at Reynolds Coliseum. She became just the fourth NCAA Division I basketball coach to direct 1,000 games.
February 19, 2006: The first annual Hoops for Hope game takes place at Reynolds Coliseum when the Pack hosts Maryland.
February 5, 2007: Coach Yow becomes just the sixth coach in Division I women's basketball history to record 700 career wins. NC State defeats Florida State 68-51 at Reynolds Coliseum.
February 16, 2007: The Reynolds Coliseum floor is renamed “Kay Yow Court” the night NC State upends No. 2 North Carolina, 72-65, on an emotional senior night.
March 3, 2007: In the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, NC State surprises unbeaten and No. 1 Duke, 70-65, to advance to the title game for the 12th time in school history.
March 12, 2007: Taking part in the ESPN Women’s Basketball selection show live from Reynolds Coliseum, NC State makes its third straight and 20th appearance overall in the NCAA Tournament. The Pack becomes the first-ever four-seed to enter the NCAA having beaten two No. 1 seeds (North Carolina, Duke) in the same season.
March 18, 2007: Coach Yow records her 650th win at NC State in a 84-52 rout of Robert Morris in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the RBC Center.
March 20, 2007: Up next for the Pack was a nationally ranked Baylor ball club and it was a thriller for the right to go to Fresno. NC State prevailed in overtime, 78-72, for the programs 11th trip to the Sweet 16 and first since 2001.
July 16, 2007: Among the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles with the world’s biggest celebrities and sports stars in attendance, Coach Yow is presented with the inaugural Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance at the 15th annual ESPY Awards.
November 24, 2007: NC State wins the Junkanoo Jam Lucaya Division in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. Khadijah Whittington is named MVP after averaging 25.5 points and 12.0 rebounds in two wins.
December 3, 2007: The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), in partnership with The V Foundation for Cancer Research, announces the launch of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. This is the first time in its 26-year history that the WBCA has instituted a health initiative, with the Fund serving as the newest women’s initiative launched at The V Foundation.
April 2, 2008: The Wolfpack plays its first ever game in the month of April at Michigan State in the semifinals of the Women’s NIT. After winning three games in six days, the Spartans hold court with a 58-57 win at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
April 9, 2008: The Indiana Fever selects Khadijah Whittington in the second round of the WNBA Draft.
January 24, 2009: Kay Yow, 66, passes away after a long, heroic battle with breast cancer.
April 16, 2009: Kellie Harper, who had served as the head coach at Western Carolina for five years, was named the third head women's basketball coach in the 35-year history of the program.
