Coach Kay Yow dies at 66

North Carolina State's Kay Yow, the Hall of Fame women's basketball coach who won more than 700 games while earning fans with her decades-long fight against breast cancer, died Saturday. She was 66.

Yow, first diagnosed with the disease in 1987, died in the morning at WakeMed Cary Hospital after being admitted last week, university spokeswoman Annabelle Myers said.

"Everyone who had the privilege of knowing Kay Yow has a heavy heart today,She faced every opponent, whether on the basketball court of in a hospital room, with dignity and grace. She will be greatly missed." N.C. State athletic director Lee Fowler said in a statement.

Born March 14, 1942, Sandra Kay Yow originally took up coaching to secure a job teaching high school English at Allen Jay High School in High Point in the 1960s. Her boss, along with the boys' coach, agreed to help her plan practices and to sit on the bench with her during games. Midway through the season, Yow was on her own.

She spent four years there followed by another year in her hometown at Gibsonville High, compiling a 92-27 record. She moved on to Elon, going 57-19 in four seasons before being hired at N.C. State in 1975.

Her original cancer diagnosis came the year before coaching the United States to the gold in the Seoul Olympics. She had a mastectomy as part of her treatment, then discovered a lump in November 2004 close to where cancer was first discovered. She had surgery that December and started on a regimen of radiation and daily hormone therapy. Still, the cancer came back again and again.

Yow had a record of 737-344 in 38 years ,34 years with the Wolfpack in a career filled with milestones. She coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1988, won four Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships, earned 20 NCAA tournament bids and reached the Final Four in 1998.

She also was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002, while the school dedicated "Kay Yow Court" in Reynolds Coliseum in 2007.

She served on the board of the V Foundation for Cancer Research, which was founded by ESPN and her friend and colleague, former N.C. State men's coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993.

There were moments of silence to honor Yow before several basketball games Saturday, including before the N.C. State-Boston College men's game in Boston. Duke — one of N.C. State's closest ACC rivals also honored Yow before the men's game against Maryland.

In her final months, Yow was on hormonal therapy as the cancer spread to her liver and bone. But she never flinched or complained, relying on her faith as the disease progressed. She commonly noted there were other patients with "harder battles than I'm fighting" and said it was inspiring for her to stay with her team.

Yow announced earlier this month that she would not return to the team this season after she missed four games because of what was described as an extremely low energy level.