During a press conference Tuesday, interim head coach Stephanie Glance offered her memories of Yow’s life – one which was highlighted by generosity and selflessness.
“Coach Yow is such a giver, she spent a lifetime of giving – so we are the recipients and we feel very blessed to be on the receiving end of so many gifts that she has given us and left for us,” Interim head coach Stephanie Glance said as a testament to Yow’s character.
The team visited Yow in the hospital last Wednesday before departing for their game in Miami. Glance and her staff tried to prepare the team for what they may have seen in the hospital room. But the always upbeat Yow surprised Glance and the players.
“She had to have mustered up every bit of energy she had left, because she was sitting up in the chair. She was alert and stayed alert the whole time,” Glance said. “She talked with them, she joked with them.”
“The staff talked amongst ourselves and we thought ‘that’s incredible,’ that she was able to do that,” Glance said. “So when the team left, they thought ‘wow, she’s a lot better than we thought she would be.'”
The team was very encouraged and uplifted by what would be their final visit with Yow. And even in her final days, she was still living out her legacy of giving to others.
“She still found it within herself, with the Lord’s help, to have that kind of strength to speak with them and give something back to them. And that was just an amazing, incredible thing,” Glance said. “It was like her last gift to the team.”
Senior Shayla Fields echoed Glance’s sentiments. She was unsure of what to expect during the visit and per her coach’s request, tried not make things emotional.
“But I shed a couple of tears. It was so good to see her and the spirits that she was in,” Fields said.
Sophomore Tia Bell knew that although Yow was in a hospital room, rather than on the basketball court, she was the same coach that the team had always known.
“I told my teammates that she looked full of life and that was the Coach Yow we know. I think she showed us again how she exemplified helping others before herself,” Bell said. “She wouldn’t let us see her weak. We came in and she was the same strong, uplifting Coach Yow.”
Yow prayed throughout her second diagnosis of breast cancer that God would give her a purpose so that she may be a beacon of light and a ray of hope through her own personal storm. In the past four years particularly, and throughout her life, Yow’s colleagues, players and fans have all witnessed the purpose that Yow had – to give to others and live the life that God would want her to live.
“I don’t think she was exactly driven to inspire people – but through her faith, she wanted to make sure that God’s purposes were carried out through her,” Glance said. “If she was able to help someone in any way, whether it was a cancer survivor, a person battling with a difficult time in their life, someone on our team or staff, or within the community – if she was able to help, she was always interested.”
Glance spoke on behalf of the team, which picked practice back up yesterday afternoon, during Tuesday’s press conference. The mood was somber, but frequently filled with smiles from the players and moments of laughter from Glance as she reminisced about the woman that has been at her side on and off the court for fifteen years.
“This is a sad day, a sad time for our team and our staff. It’s a sad time for N.C. State University, the state of North Carolina and the country as a whole,” Glance said. “The impact that Yow has had on all of us personally, as well as so many people from afar is incredible. It runs so deep and she has touched so many lives.”
Yow’s spirit, energy and always positive approach to life has been become the foundation that the team will rebuild on in the days and weeks to come. The opportunity to have been so close to Yow – to be mentored, coached and loved by Yow – is what the team has held on to in these difficult times.
“But as sad as we feel, we wouldn’t trade our sports with anybody, or the opportunity that we have gotten to share with Coach Yow,” Glance said. “So the sadness we feel right now is all worth it, because the rewards we’ve gotten by knowing Coach Yow and being impacted by her far outweigh the sadness. And what she has left us will be with us for the rest of our lives.”
Tia Bell and her teammates have already received an outpouring of support from the student body. She said she has been approached through the week by fellow classmates
“I didn’t know it, but I guess it was broadcasted to wear pink on Monday, so that meant a lot,” Bell said. “There’s been so much support that’s making it all easier.”