The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 ■ 49 Yow and her team were loose, hanging out in the common areas of the Dayton Holiday Inn Holidome, with its indoor pool, putt-putt course, shuffleboard areas and Tiki hut. Much of their time was at the ping-pong tables, where Yow took on all challengers and pretty much ruled the roost all weekend. "Once we got to Dayton, the ACC Tournament was so far in our rear view mirror," Gillespie said. "Now it became, how do we get to Kansas City and get Coach Yow that missing piece of her career?" The loose atmosphere of the play- ers helped take some pressure off the team when they faced second-ranked and top-seeded Old Dominion in the regional semifinal game. Maybe a little too loose. Melvin was again in early foul trou- ble, meaning the veteran team needed to look to a pair of newcomers who had worked their way into Yow's lineup, sophomore center Summer Erb and freshman wing guard Tynesha Lewis. Erb had played her freshman season at Purdue but, like Gillespie, transferred into Yow's program. She was still a bit of an unknown quantity after sitting out her transfer season — she had averaged 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds with the Boilermakers — but she blossomed in the NCAA Tournament, setting herself up for her ACC Player of the Year junior season in 1998-99, when she averaged 21.5 points and 9.9 rebounds. Late in the second half against Old Dominion, Erb and Lewis combined to take the Wolfpack on a remarkable 12-0 run that eventually put the Monarchs away. The final tally was 55-54, with Old Dominion becoming the third top seed to be eliminated, leaving top-ranked Tennessee as the lone No. 1 remaining in the field. "At those games in Dayton, Summer Erb was just incredible," Gillespie said. "No one knew how good she was except us. She was the absolute difference- maker in those two games." Far-Reaching Impact Yow thought her players, however, were a little too caught up in the mo- ment. On the day before facing third- ranked Connecticut, she was mad at her team again. She pulled out the same "your dreams are right in front of you" speech she had given to the 1988 USA Basketball Olym- pic team right before it played Yugo- slavia in the gold medal game in Seoul, South Korea. It didn't work. Five minutes into the second half, the Pack was trailing Geno Auriemma's team by 10 points. Yow called timeout to tell her play- ers they looked satisfied with a Sweet 16 appearance. Their defense was bad. Their rebounding was terrible. They weren't getting the ball to Melvin, their All-America player. Over the next 10 minutes, the defense forced 6 turnovers. Melvin scored 8 of her 18 points and led the team on a 14-0 run. She added 11 rebounds, lifting the Pack to a 60-52 victory. "That was such a special season, and a special time for the seniors on that team," Melvin recalled. "Going to the Final Four was something we all wanted to do for Coach Yow. It was something she deserved for all she had done for the game." Yow never wanted those games to be about her, but she accepted the praise on behalf of her players. In the post- game press conference, in front of her players and the media, her voice broke and tears flowed down her face. "My cup runneth over," she said, go- ing back to scripture as she always did when other words failed her. The build-up over the next week was remarkable. The national and lo- cal press turned out stories about the coaches taking their teams to Kansas City for the Final Four, where Yow, un- defeated Tennessee's Pat Summitt and Louisiana Tech's Leon Barmore — all legendary pioneers in the women's game — overshadowed the appearance of ninth-seeded Arkansas, the low- est seeded team to ever advance to the women's final weekend. Mostly, however, it was about Yow, someone all Wolfpack fans loved, but maybe never completely appreciated until that moment. "I don't know that the NC State com- munity at the time really understood just how far-reaching Coach Yow's in- fluence was," said Kim Gaffney Cor- riher, who was the Technician sports editor during those years. "Part of that was because of Coach Yow's personality, but she was never really looking to attract attention, never looking for the spotlight for herself. "I think there was also a huge gender gap, even then, that she and her team that year helped close." State's stay in Kemper Arena didn't last long. Even though Melvin scored a career-high 37 points — still the most ever scored in a women's Final Four game — the Pack fell 84-65 to Louisi- ana Tech. Twenty-five years later, that is not the story of the Wolfpack's run in that tournament. It's still the only time the Wolfpack has ever made it to the Final Four, though Wes Moore's team the past three years has won the ACC, advanced to the Sweet 16 and played Auriemma's team into two overtimes in last year's Elite Eight regional final. It was the pinnacle of Yow's career. "The teams the past three years were probably better than teams we had, but it's really hard to get to the Final Four," Gillespie said. "You have to have some things go your way. Our matchups turned out to be good for us. "It will always be special that we were the only team to get Coach Yow to the Final Four." ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. " That was such a special season, and a special time for the seniors on that team. Going to the Final Four was something we all wanted to do for Coach Yow. It was something she deserved for all she had done for the game. " Chasity Melvin