Sometimes, the stars align and everything seems to come together in a perfect storm. That’s what happened Feb. 16, 2007 in Reynolds Coliseum for NC State women’s basketball.
The Wolfpack was coached by the legendary Kay Yow, who was undoubtedly the best coach in school history. The all-time great won four ACC championships with NC State and took the team to 23 NCAA Tournaments, including the program’s only Final Four in 1998.
Up until that point in the season, NC State had been having a good year, entering with an 18-8 record. But for senior night, the red-and-white was set to play the then-No. 2 Tar Heels, who beat the Pack 86-65 earlier in the season in Chapel Hill.
Going into the game, it wasn’t even certain that Yow would be able to coach. Yow had taken a two-month leave to treat a cancer recurrence at the beginning of the season, and even after returning, she had to be taken home from practice via ambulance the day before the game.
However, Yow returned the day of the game, and both players and assistant coaches were inspired and motivated seeing their coach battle adversity to rejoin the team. Jenny Palmateer, who played for Yow from 1989-93 and was an assistant on the 2007 team, vividly remembers the way Yow battled through adversity to be with the team.
“To see [Yow] going through that battle, it was hard to watch, but it fired up all of us in such a unique way that I think it actually brought out the best in us,” Palmateer said. “What could have really sucked the wind out of our sails, … it served to actually ignite and energize our team in a way that I’m not sure we could have done it any other way.”
Yow’s return could not have come at a more poetic time. Prior to the game, the court at Reynolds Coliseum was dedicated as “Kay Yow Court” in honor of the coach, who did not know about the unveiling until it occurred and was both surprised and humbled.
“If there was ever a more deserving person, I don’t know who that would be,” Palmateer said. “She would never expect it, she would never want it. To see her reaction, in her typical servant-leader style, give credit to everybody else in that moment, it was very special.”
The game couldn’t have started much better for NC State, who led by as many as 26 in the first half and held a 46-27 lead at halftime. Someone who didn’t know any better would’ve said that between the two teams, the Pack was playing like the No. 2 team in the country.
But the Heels weren’t done just yet, climbing their way back into the game in the second half and cutting the deficit to 66-63 with two minutes remaining. However, a long 2-point jumper by Ashley Key with 1:36 left gave the Pack some much-needed breathing room, making the score 68-63.
UNC got it back to three with 21.3 seconds left, but the Pack iced it at the free-throw line to secure the 72-65 win. A feeling of both relief and euphoria erupted over Reynolds Coliseum as the students stormed the court in celebration of beating both the No. 2 team in the country and NC State’s biggest rival.
“It was one of the greatest examples of when a team is playing for each other and playing for a bigger purpose other than a win or a loss, what that feels like, what that looks like and what the result of that was,” Palmateer said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been a part of anything before that, and I don’t know that I’ve ever been a part of anything since that equals what that was.”
The win was a testament to the resilience and determination of Yow, who fought through the difficulties of cancer to be with the team and help deliver one of the biggest wins in school history.
Yow’s legacy continues today through the annual Play4Kay game and through the impact she had on countless players and coaches over the years, including Palmateer, who is now the CEO of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
It was truly one of the greatest nights in the history of Reynolds Coliseum, from the Senior Night celebration, to Yow’s return and court dedication, and to cap it off, a win over the No. 2 team in the country — NC State’s archrival UNC.
No matter the sport, Reynolds always delivers, especially on that night. The fans who stormed the court perhaps symbolized it the best: a perfect storm.
