When coach Kay Yow walked onto the court during Friday night’s game against No. 2 North Carolina, she had tears in her eyes knowing that the court in Reynolds Coliseum was going to be named after her.
The unveiling of the court was not a surprise to many — including North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell, who said Yow truly deserved the honor. However, the defeat of North Carolina was the shock of the night.
“Wow, I can’t even hardly gauge this right now,” Yow said after the game. “Senior night, to have the court named in my honor, to win against your arch-rival — a team that’s ranked, a game that means so much to us, it helps get us back in the driver’s seat — I mean, it’s just everything culminated at one time.”
The 72-65 win in front of 7,460 people was the Wolfpack’s first win against the Tar Heels in Reynolds Coliseum since 2001. It also came in front of the second-largest crowd of the season.
Senior forward Sasha Reaves said the win was very important to the team in many aspects.
“It meant a lot,” Reaves said. “We came out and showed that by the way we played. We wanted to give it all — I can honestly say we stepped out there and played hard every second.”
State started out on fire and would lead North Carolina 46-20 at one point in the first half; then Carolina would make it interesting, the Heels pulled up to 66-63 just before two-minute mark.
Then with State looking desperate on the next possession, senior guard Ashley Key made a game-saving play.
“It was a broken play, obviously,” Key said. “Keisha went up for the shot and decided not to, and just dropped the ball, so I just came around — one dribble and up.”
The fade-away shot from just inside the three-point line hit nothing but the net, putting the Wolfpack up by five. Key would then make four free throws to seal the win in the final minute.
Hatchell said she had not seen the Pack play that well all season. She said with Yow’s ceremony and it being senior night, it was going to be tough to get a win.
“All factors considered, it was going to be hard to win over here tonight, no matter what,” Hatchell said.
When asked to describe the win Key, with a huge smile, couldn’t describe the situation.
“I don’t have that big of a vocabulary,” Key said. “It brought tears to my eyes, and I’m not a very emotional person.”
Immediately after the game, fans, students and even members of the men’s basketball team stormed the court; Key said she never thought she would play in a game where fans rushed the court.
“I dreamed about it,” Key said. “I got to see a couple on television — I always wanted to be a part of one, I finally got it. Dreams can come true.”
After the game, Yow sat with three of her seniors and her smile never diminished. She wanted to talk about her team, but questions about the court kept coming her way. She answered, saying that she wanted the court to represent all the former players and coaches.
“There’s been so many great coaches and great players that have played in this arena — with the court named after me, that I would represent them in a class way,” Yow said.
Hatchell said that while her team lost, she said people will remember the honoring of Yow.
“As time moves along, we’ll know we lost the game here,” Hatchell said. “But I think more than anything else, we’ll remember what tonight means as far as Kay Yow is concerned.”