The fifth annual Hoops 4 Hope held in Reynolds last night was a success. The Wolfpack Women put together a 66-64 victory in the last minute of the game against Miami. Over $50,000 was raised for the Kay Yow/WBCA Foundation.
But attendance was down from an 8,650 sellout in 2009 to 6,452 and the event raised more than half of last year’s $91,200.
Last year’s Hoops 4 Hope game took place only 23 days after the passing of legendary coach Kay Yow, providing a reeling Wolfpack community with a reason to come together. It was Yow’s vision to have the game sell out and it did, but not just one year later, which is a bit disappointing.
The Wolfpack Women suffered a tough loss Jan. 25 on their home court at the hands of the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels. After the game, UNC coach Sylvia Hatchell was asked what it felt like to be back in Reynolds without longtime peer and friend Yow.
“It’s not the same over here without Kay,” she responded. “I like Kellie and think they’re doing a great job. But I don’t think people give Kay enough credit for what she’s done for women’s basketball.”
I, for one, would have to agree.
It would take an entire copy of this paper to detail all that Yow accomplished on and off the court during her career. But some of her achievements are always highlight worthy.
She coached the Wolfpack to five ACC regular season titles and four tournament titles. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000, followed by an induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2007, she was awarded the Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance. She won Olympic gold in 1988, one year after being diagnosed with breast cancer. All of these great moments in Yow history are only the tip of the iceberg.
She led the charge in the 1980s to get women’s basketball broadcasted on television. Last night’s game was aired nationally on ESPN2, evidence of how far the sport has progressed in this day and age.
Hoops 4 Hope was her brainchild, which also launched the ThinkPink and WBCA Pink Zone initiatives, which now includes over 1,550 school and organizations.
Behind the scenes is where some of Yow’s greatest work lies. She fought tooth and nail for the sport of women’s basketball for everything from sponsors and programming to the athletes themselves. You name it, Yow probably had a hand in it somewhere down the line. Like Hatchell said, some folks just don’t give Kay enough credit – in part, because those folks probably just don’t know all she devoted to the sport.
It is sad, at least to me, that you could probably ask that an underclassman on campus take a moment to tell you about Kay Yow and he or she couldn’t talk for more than fifteen seconds. Sure, you’ll hear that Yow coached for so long at State and that she died from breast cancer, but don’t expect much beyond that.
I give my full respect to coach Kellie Harper. She has done a fine job progressing forward with this team. I know that Yow would be proud of the direction she its taking this program in.
This isn’t a call for memorials to be built or names to be etched in the book. These are just trivial things that Yow wouldn’t want to focus on if she were still with us. Instead, it’s a need to keep Yow’s legacy alive, to keep the ball rolling. A pioneer’s work is never done, and Kay Yow was a pioneer for women’s basketball and for the fight against breast cancer. It doesn’t matter how big or small the efforts are, but I hope to see Yow’s vision for breast cancer awareness and research continued, and for women’s basketball to continue to grow. We owe it to her for all she gave to us.
Support the Pack in its final home games of the season. This team has progressed far more quickly than most would have anticipated and fans should be proud. Everyone knows someone whose lives have been touched by breast cancer. Maybe you had other plans Sunday, but take the time to call up that person and tell them you’re proud and that you care. If they inspire you, make it known.
This is probably a column that Kay Yow wouldn’t be a big fan of. She was never one to boast her achievements, records and accolades. But it’s what she deserves.
