The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1510285
NC State Women's Basketball Timeline Jan. 16, 1973: In the first club team game school history, coached by physical education instructors Sandee Hill and Gini Leath, NC State loses 66-45 to a more- experienced team from North Carolina in a contest played at Carmichael Gym. In its second season, the club team plays three games in Reynolds Coliseum prior to men's games against Vermont, Virginia and North Carolina. Dec. 7, 1974: In the first game in varsity history, Robert Renfrow "Peanut" Doak's NC State women beat Virginia 57-45. Genie Jordan scores the first basket on her way to 18 points in the game. Lulu Eure adds 13 points, and Donna Andrews totals 12 points and 13 rebounds to record the program's first double-double in the inau- gural game. July 1, 1975: Athletics director Willis Casey hires Sandra Kay Yow away from Elon, making her the first full-time women's coach at any North Carolina college. Her du- ties also include being the women's slow-pitch softball coach, volleyball coach and coordinator of women's athletics. Jan. 10, 1976: Yow records the first of her 680 victories (against 325 losses) at NC State with a 68-64 win over College of Charleston. February 1976: Leading scorer Susan Yow, younger sister of Kay Yow, becomes the first woman in NC State history to earn All-America honors, after averaging 19.4 points and 11.9 rebounds in her only season with the Pack. Dec. 21, 1977: NC State wins its first regulation ACC game by defeating Clemson 84-82. The Pack goes on to capture the league's first regular-season title. Jan. 12, 1978: NC State beats the nation's No. 1 team with a 98-86 victory over Wayland Baptist at Reynolds Coliseum. Feb. 22, 1978: Yow leads her team to its first ACC regular-season championship. While the Pack loses to Maryland in the inaugural ACC Tournament, it is ranked No. 3 in the final national poll after losing to No. 2 Wayland Baptist in the AIAW cham- pionship. March 13, 1982: NC State beats Northwestern, 75-71, in the first NCAA Tourna- ment game in school history. August 1988: Less than a year after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Yow leads Team USA to an Olympic gold medal in Seoul, defeating Yugoslavia 77-70 in the championship game. March 1990: Andrea Stinson becomes NC State's first ACC Player of the Year after averaging 21.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. March 1998: The most successful postseason in Wolfpack women's basketball history includes a 55-54 victory over No. 2 Old Dominion in the NCAA East Regional, a 60-52 win over third-ranked Connecticut in the East Regional final and the pro- gram's only trip to the NCAA Final Four. Feb. 2, 2001: The first class of retired jerseys is hung in the rafters of Reynolds Coliseum. Those honored are Genia Beasley (50), Andrea Stinson (32), Chasity Melvin (44), Linda "Hawkeye" Page (43), Trena Trice (15), Susan Yow (14) and Trudi Lacey (22). Sept. 27, 2002: Yow joins men's coach Everett Case and NC State All-American David Thompson in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Feb. 19, 2006: NC State hosts Maryland in the inaugural Hoops 4 Hope (now Play4Kay) Game, Yow's breast cancer awareness game that kicks off national fund- raising events. Feb. 16, 2007: The court at Reynolds Coliseum is named in Yow's honor in pre- game ceremonies. The Wolfpack defeats No. 2 North Carolina 72-65 to cap off the Senior Day celebration. Dec. 13, 2007: The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund is established in honor of the Wolfpack head coach, her indominable spirit and her irrepressible fight against cancer. In more than 15 years, it has raised some $10 million to benefit cancer survivors. Jan. 24, 2009: Midway through her 35th season at NC State, Yow dies from stage 4 breast cancer at Western Wake Hospital in Cary. Her funeral six days later draws more than 1,400 people from across the country to celebrate her successful career and her inspirational life. April 16, 2009: Kellie Harper, former All-America basketball player at Tennessee and head coach at Western Carolina, is named the third full-time head coach in NC State women's basketball history. She takes her first team to the ACC championship game against Duke and the NCAA Tournament. March 26, 2013: After four seasons, a 70–64 overall record, a 23–39 ACC mark and one NCAA Tournament appearance, Harper is fired by NC State athletics direc- tor Debbie Yow. Harper is now the head coach at Tennessee. April 5, 2013: Wes Moore, a one-time assistant for Kay Yow, is hired from Tennes- see-Chattanooga to be the fourth head coach in the history of Wolfpack women's basketball. March 1, 2017: Moore wins the first of his three ACC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year Awards after leading the Wolfpack to a 12-4 ACC record and earning an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. He takes his next three teams to the NCAA Sweet 16. March 2020: Junior Elissa Cunane becomes the first player in NC State history to earn first-team Associated Press All-America honors. Six players before her earned AP honorable mention awards. March 26, 2022: The Wolfpack women's team matches the feat accomplished by men's coach Everett Case, Father of ACC Basketball, by winning its third consecutive ACC title. Case's teams won the league's first three titles from 1954-56. — Tim Peeler Robert Renfrow "Peanut" Doak was NC State's head coach when the women's varsity basketball program was launched in 1974. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS 48 ■ THE WOLFPACKER