The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/197085
At the 1988 Olympics, the U.S. team defeated the Soviets in the semifinals and then topped Yugoslavia to clinch the gold medal. photo courtesy NC State Media Relations goes,'" Susan said. The team, starring Teresa Edwards and Cynthia Cooper, took off on an intense spring training schedule that bounced them from Raleigh to Colorado Springs for training camps and to Myrtle Beach and Columbia, S.C., for exhibition games. By the time they showed up in Korea wearing their "Sole Goal, Seoul Gold" Tshirts, the team was prepared to win. As for her own illness, Kay never let it affect her coaching, even though she was taking 18 different vitamins a day and her doctors were keeping a close eye on her health. To her, however, it was secondary. "By the time we got to South Korea, her cancer was a nonissue," Barry remembered. "She was sometimes a little tired, but every Olympic coach who is under that enormous pressure, no matter what sport, feels that way." And, as it turned out, Lib Yow's cancer went into remission, and even though she and husband Hilton Yow could not attend the Olympics in Seoul, they watched all five victories on television from their home in Gibsonville, N.C., including the 102-88 win over the Soviets in the semi- finals when Katrina McClain scored 27 points and Cooper scored 26. Two days later, the Americans beat Yugoslavia for the gold, something Georgetown coach John Thompson and the U.S. men's team failed to do. But Yow, with all of the emotional stress from the previous 18 months, was exhausted. "Ten years from now, I might look back at '88 as the best of times," Yow said. "I loved it. But I gave everything I had to give, and as a result depleted myself. The pressure, the intensity of it all, takes it out of you. There's only one way to explain it: It's the Olympics." Susan Yow believes that out of all the many great things her Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame sister did in her life, winning that gold medal ranks in the top two or three. The only thing that would have ever surpassed it would have been winning a national championship at NC State. "What was most important to her about winning the gold medal was being able to share it with everyone," said Susan Yow, who is now the head coach at Queens College in Charlotte. "She was able to come home and share that with the entire U.S. basketball community. "And that's what would have made her happiest about winning a national championship at NC State — a chance to share that experience with her Wolfpack family." ■ You may contact Tim Peeler at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund Continues The Work Started By The Late Coach Having already made a name for itself from coast to coast, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund wants to ensure the long-term viability of the non-profit foundation founded by the late NC State Hall of Fame women's basketball coach. It wants to develop stronger local relationships and partnerships. Yow, whose fight with breast cancer began in 1987 and reoccurred in 2006 until her death three years later, set up the fund in 2007, with the Hoops4Hope basketball game, a regular-season contest for her Wolfpack women's team in Reynolds Coliseum that celebrated cancer survivors and drew attention to breast cancer research. In nearly six years, the fund has supported almost $3 million in research grants, with $1 million grants provided to Johns Hopkins and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, along with $100,000 grants to cancer research centers located in the host city of every NCAA Women's Final Four since 2009. In addition, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund has supported the Rex Healthcare mobile mammography units. The Yow fund was initially based in Atlanta as part of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, then moved to Cary in 2010 as part of The V Foundation for Cancer Research, which was started in 1991 by the late Jim Valvano, Yow's former colleague and longtime friend. The organizations shared office space and support systems for two and a half years. In April, the Yow fund relocated to 5121 Kingdom Way, just off Trinity Road in Raleigh, in the shadow of Carter-Finley Stadium. It still maintains strong working relationships with both The V Foundation and the WBCA. "One thing that was obvious to us was that as we are growing, it is time for us to stand on our own and build our own brand," executive director Sue Donohoe said. "We continue to partner with The V Foundation and work closely with them, but we are excited about creating our own identity." The 3,000-square-foot office is both the headquarters for the Yow fund and a lifetime trophy case for Yow's achievements. Both of her Olympic gold medals are on display, as well as the 1996 Olympic torch she carried. The office is filled with basketball memorabilia celebrating NC State's four ACC championships and its 1998 NCAA Women's Final Four appearance. It's as packed tightly with all the awards and memorabilia she collected in her 40 years as a head coach as the coach's office was on the first floor of Reynolds Coliseum. And there's twice as much in storage as there is on display. The staff of four includes former NC State women's basketball director of operations and compliance director Robin Pate as the director of community development, former Wolfpack Sports Marketing associate Brenda Steen as the director of marketing and development, and Sarah Womack, operations coordinator and a former graduate assistant for the NC State women's team. The Yow fund has garnered headlines with several key initiatives this fall. It made a big splash in October, during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when it partnered with Nike to host a pink game between Oregon and UCLA. The Ducks wore special uniforms that included pink helmets, socks and gloves. Twenty-five of the helmets were auctioned off, with all proceeds going directly to the Yow fund. In February, the Yow fund will host its Play 4Kay Initiative, which has grown out of NC State's popular Hoops4Hope game that was started by Yow in 2006 to celebrate cancer survivors. Teams from across the country will sport pink uniforms to raise funds and awareness during the 11-day event from Feb. 7-17, culminating in national broadcasts on ESPN's family of cable networks The NC State women will host North Carolina on Feb. 16 in Reynolds Coliseum, as part of ESPN's day-long celebration of Yow's legacy and fight against women's cancers. — Tim Peeler 94 ■ the wolfpacker 92-94.Kay Yow Olympics.indd 94 10/22/13 2:49 PM