Remembering Kay Yow

The Los Angeles Sparks send their condolences to the Yow family, Coach Yow's many friends, the North Carolina State players and coaches both present and past, and all of the people whose lives Kay touched.

"I was lucky enough to hear Coach Yow speak last year at the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Convention," said Sparks' President Kristin Bernert. "Her grace, her dignity, her positive attitude and her genuine desire to impact the lives of everyone she touched cannot be expressed in words. She was a special woman who will leave a long legacy in women's basketball."

WNBA President Donna Orender on the passing of Kay Yow: "This is certainly a profound loss for the family of basketball. Kay's legacy will be the many lives she touched and will continue to touch as the lessons she delivered in life will live on."

WNBA Chief of Basketball Operations and Player Relations, Renee Brown: "I consider myself blessed to have known - and learned from - Coach Yow throughout my career. Without a doubt she will be remembered as one of the most beloved coaches in the history of women's basketball. Her players adored her but it was so, so much bigger than basketball. They adored and respected her for the life lessons she imparted along the way; she taught them the value of being a good person and representing themselves and their families in the proper manner. Kay did more than prepare her players for basketball; she prepared them for life."

Yow, 66, compiled a record of 722-333 during her storied career. Yow coached the U.S. Olympic women's basketball team to a gold medal in 1988; won four Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships; earned 20 NCAA tournament bids; and reached the Final Four in 1998.

She was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002, the fifth female coach to be selected. In 2007, the basketball court at Reynolds Coliseum was renamed "Kay Yow Court" at Reynolds Coliseum.

In her honor, the WBCA created a fund committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women's cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause. To donate in honor of Coach Yow, please CLICK HERE.