The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 ■ 41 Jan. 24, 2009, Gillespie, associate head coach Stephanie Glance and assistants Jenny Palmateer and Trena Trice-Hill were with Yow when she passed away at WakeMed Cary Hospital at the age of 66. "That final season on her staff shaped me as a human being more than any other in my life," Gillespie said. 'It's A Thrill To See Her Coach' When Kellie Harper was hired as Yow's successor for the 2009-10 season, Gil- lespie went looking for a new place to develop her profession. She returned to her family's Midwest roots, spending two years as an assistant at Illinois-Chicago, four years as head coach at NCAA Divi- sion II Benedictine College, then becom- ing the head coach at NAIA Lewis College. After just two years at Lewis, Gillespie was hired in 2017 to remake an Illinois State program that had won just 18 games in the previous three seasons. It's the same school where Glance had served as head coach for three seasons before re- turning to Raleigh to become executive director of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. In the four years between Glance and Gillespie, the Redbirds were 10-20, 2-28, 8-22 and 8-23. In her five years, Gillespie has won 19 games three times and last year sur- prised the Missouri Valley Conference by winning three games in the league tourney and advancing to the NCAA Tournament. That success was among the reasons the 46-year-old Gillespie was offered a five-year contract exten- sion just after the 2022 season ended. For Gannon, Gillespie embodies all of the best traits of the coaches he played for and knew throughout his playing and broadcasting career. "She lives it," Gannon said. "And she has learned it well. It's a thrill to see her coach." As much success as she has had in basketball as a player and a coach, Gil- lespie enjoys being a mother to children Beckett (4) and Emerson (2) with her wife, Brittany, more than anything. When she signed her contract at Il- linois State five years ago, it included a clause that says her family can travel with the team to all road games. Her son and daughter now run around at prac- tice the same way she did around her father's and grandfather's teams. "I'm a mom first," she said. "I get that from Coach Yow, too. She didn't have kids, but her players were her children. "My biggest thing is that I want my kids to look back on their lives and know they were my biggest priority. I work hard and am gone a lot, but I think they know that." In the regular rotation for reading at bedtime is Yow's children's book. "Family is the overriding theme to her coaching philosophy," Gannon said. "That's the type of coach her dad was, the kind of coach my dad was, and the type of coach that Coach Yow was. She grew up in it." Still, it's one thing to live it, but an- other to succeed in it, something Gil- lespie has done at every stop in more than a decade as a head coach. "Until you actually run a team or run a practice, you don't know," Gannon said. "But she's proven herself, and I couldn't be prouder." ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. " I knew all my life that I wanted to be a coach. My grandfather coached for 58 years. My dad was a basketball coach in high school and college. Then watching and studying Coach Yow, she made such a positive impact on all my teammates' lives. " Gillespie KRISTEN GILLESPIE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (1995-99) Age: 46 Living: Normal, Ill. Occupation: Head women's basketball coach, Illinois State Did you know? While injuries kept Gillespie from winning ACC honors, she was one of the most decorated members of the roster when it came to team awards presented by Yow and her staff. She twice won the 110% Effort and the Best Team Supporter for a Starter Award. As a junior, she won the BEM Award for keeping the neatest and tidiest locker in Reynolds Coliseum. Gillespie was the lone team captain during her senior season.