Ever since head coach Kay Yow was hired as women’s basketball coach in 1975, she has achieved many landmark achievements — five ACC championships, four ACC tournament championships, gold medal in the 1988 Olympics as head coach of the U.S.A team, and 27 winning seasons to name a few.
Tonight when N.C. State (16-7, 5-3) hosts Florida State (17-5, 6-1) at Reynolds Coliseum, Yow will be attempting to achieve yet another milestone in her career — 700 career coaching wins, something only five other coaches in women’s basketball history have obtained.
The attempt comes during a key game for State, winners of three straight games including a win over Wake Forest Thursday night 79-53. Florida State currently sits in third place in the conference, with only one ACC loss against Duke.
Even though 700 career wins is obviously a “big deal,” according to assistant coach Stephanie Glance, the first thing coach Yow said to Glance concerning the landmark occasion was she “doesn’t want any attention drawn to her 700th win.”
“She always says that a game is a game, and 700 will happen so lets just play a game and if it happens, then it happens,” Glance said. “You can’t get so caught up in that game because you want the players to relax and approach the game.”
Even though Glance would like for the players to be relaxed and approach the game as if it was a normal game, she acknowledged that the team is aware of the occasion and the added pressure surrounding the game.
“It is something that you can never really talk about because they already know about it, and they are already going to be doing their best to try to get the win,” Glance said. “What you want them to do is just play the game.”
In order to get the win, the Wolfpack will be facing an opponent, that have won seven of their last nine games and are in third place in the conference, one spot ahead of defending national champions Maryland.
With the current conference landscape, Glance admitted the game should be a challenge but also an interesting game due to the similarities between the two teams.
“We both have size, we both have productive inside players, and we both have really good guards that are producing,” Glance said. “We can both play a big lineup and we can play a small lineup. It’s going to be a great game.”
The Seminoles are led by senior guard Alicia Gladden who leads the team with 14.5 ppg, good enough for 14th in the conference, and 6-foot-4 sophomore center Britany Miller who averages 12.0 ppg, good for 23rd in the conference.
According to Glance, Florida State has a very balanced team and will look to “get out and run” when they can, making State’s transition defense one of the keys to the game.
“We have had lots of practice at transition defense with the other teams that we have played this season,” Glance said. “We also have to really contain their inside players. We can’t allow them to have double-doubles on us.”
Despite the implications the game could have on State’s conference position and postseason, Glance acknowledged all eyes will be on the sidelines and Yow during tonight’s game.
She added even though Yow accomplishing milestones like her 700th victory and this season’s Hoops for Hope game are sweet for observers and fans, the true blessing lies in Yow having the ability to attain the special victory this season.
Due to her current fight with breast cancer and her 14 game leave of absence this season, some doubted Yow’s return before season’s end.
“The best part of all of this is, health-wise, she was able to come back just because she was getting good results from her treatments,” Glance said. “Everything else is like bonuses. It’s like icing on the cake.”
