(This is AP's coverage. More to come later -- Mel)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
GIBSONVILLE, N.C. -- North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow has been laid to rest a week after her death following a long fight against cancer.
Yow was buried Saturday in her hometown of Gibsonville, about 70 miles west of North Carolina State's campus in Raleigh. The Hall of Famer coached at nearby Elon for four years before taking over at N.C. State in 1975 and finishing her career with more than 700 career victories.
About 300 mourners attended the graveside service on a chilly and windy morning, including the Wolfpack team and coaching staff. Each placed a rose on Yow's casket, then boarded a bus for Sunday's game at Virginia Tech.
Gibsonville mayor Leonard Williams read a proclamation calling for flags to be lowered to half-staff for the day in Yow's memory.
The service capped an emotionally draining week for the Wolfpack. After her death last weekend, the team went to a mall Monday to choose clothes for Yow's funeral, a task interim coach Stephanie Glance said was easier to do together than individually.
The team returned to practice Tuesday, then attended a campus tribute ceremony at Reynolds Coliseum -- home of "Kay Yow Court" -- on Wednesday night. The next day, the team played its first game since her death, falling to Boston College 62-51.
On Friday, more than 1,400 mourners -- including Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and former NFL coach and N.C. State alumnus Bill Cowher -- attended Yow's funeral service at a church in Cary, just outside of Raleigh.
"We all have known this was coming and we've all known the life that Kay's lived," said Neil Whitaker, Yow's cousin and funeral director. "You move on, but there are things you have to keep in mind. You need to focus on what she wants us to focus on, and that's being the right kind of person and doing the right things and having a strong Christian faith."
Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, but led the U.S. Olympic women's team to a gold medal the following season. The disease recurred during the 2004-05 season, forcing to her to leave her team twice in past seasons to focus on treatment even as she raised research money and cancer awareness.
She took a four-game leave in December because she said she had very little energy, and announced shortly after the new year that she would not return this season. She soon entered a hospital and spent about a week there before she died at age 66.
Menwhile, teams across the country Saturday honored Yow, wearing pink ribbons and other attire as part of the ongoing fight against cancer with women's basketball programs supporting the fund begun in Yow's name a year ago by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
From pink whistles to pink warm-up shirts, Yow was honored at
women’s college basketball games around the country Saturday, the day
she was laid to rest.
Pink is commonly used by groups that try to raise awareness of the disease and
raise funds to help search for a cure.
Kansas and No. 11 Texas A&M wore pink shirts before their game at
College Station, Texas, and officials at the Rutgers-South Florida,
Oklahoma-Missouri, and Cincinnati-Notre Dame games all used pink
whistles.
“We do everything for her memory and in memory of those we have
lost and celebrating those who have survived and keeping the fight,”
said Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson after a 73-60 loss to No. 11 Texas
A&M. “It’s her awareness, her public fight with that disease.
“She didn’t lose it, she beat it three times and I think she wins
because she’s created so much awareness and she was willing to step
out in the spotlight and speak to all of us who can do so much. And we
need to do more.”
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association issued a waiver this
week to allow teams to wear pink game jerseys, headbands, and shooting
shirts to honor Yow until Feb. 22.
N.C. State wore pink trimmed uniforms bearing the name “Yow” on
the back and pink shoes before its game on Thursday against Boston
College. The Wolfpack also had a pink heart with her last name on it
attached to their jerseys.
Teams had already been given permission to wear pink during the
week of Feb. 13-22 as part of “The Pink Zone” to help raise awareness
for breast cancer.
“Kay has championed the cause. All we need to do is whatever we
can do,” said Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, who along with his coaching
staff wore the pink breast cancer ribbons upside down for Yow. “Even
in this tough economic environment we need to find a way to help. It’s
a win-win situation not just for cancer, but for what women’s
basketball can do.”
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