Not only was coach Kay Yow at win No. 699, she was in her fourth game back from taking a leave of absence and her team was in a crucial ACC battle against third-place Florida State.
The Wolfpack knew how important of a game it was — but not just for standings.
“We knew it was a big game for ACC and the season, the NCAA,” senior forward Marquetta Dickens said. “And on top of that, it’s a great game for coach Yow. We just wanted to bring it home — she’s doing all she can to be here.”
After the game, Yow said the win considerably helped move the Wolfpack up in the standings.
“Big game against Florida State for ACC standings, for head-to-head competition, for seeding in the tournament later on,” Yow said. “This was a big win.”
So with the importance of the game to Yow and the team, it would be hard to imagine a small crowd. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
For a night that put Yow in a group with only five other coaches in the history of Division I women’s basketball, you could find similar turnouts during an N.C. State volleyball match against the University of California-Santa Cruz, the home of the Banana Slugs.
But women’s basketball games are not like this everywhere. Unfortunately, you only have to go a few miles down the road to find a packed arena for a game. And they don’t have a coach who is battling cancer, going for win No. 700 or having to fight for an NCAA Tournament spot.
Earlier in the year, while covering the women’s basketball game at North Carolina, I was stunned to see the turnout. Carmichael Auditorium was packed with all types of fans, including two full student sections.
They had team cheers, and it was much louder than any women’s game at Reynolds Coliseum.
And for the Tar Heels, packed houses for women’s basketball are nothing new.
After Carolina’s win against State, coach Sylvia Hatchell, while saying the crowd was great, didn’t seem too enthused about the number of people, which ended up at 7,697 — nearly four times as much as the attendance at last night’s game.
“It was great, especially with the weather,” Hatchell said in the post-game press conference. “We had a great crowd, had a lot of teams — just a great environment.”
But earlier in the press conference, she spent nearly a minute explaining how great other environments can be, including Carolina’s game at Maryland, which took place earlier this season.
“We have heard that they have sold more tickets for this game than any game they’ve had men or women’s,” Hatchell said after the State game. “They’ve actually sold over 18,000, and it holds only 17,500 — so 500 people are going to be standing or doing something.”
This State team really has something special. This is a year that could be remarkable for many reasons. After starting out ACC play 2-3, the team has reeled off four straight wins since Yow’s return. They just knocked off Florida State, who was 6-1 in the conference, and the team is primed for the NCAA Tournament.
However, no one will see it.
Now is a time that students can help a great program. It’s a shame that Reynolds can’t even get a quarter-full coliseum of people ready to support a team with a historic coach in Yow, who could be coming to the close of her career.
It’s a shame these players have to play in front of such a small crowd.
And it’s even more of a shame that Carolina can fill up an arena for a sport in which State can’t even come close. This women’s basketball team has something special about it, but it’s too bad no one is seeing it.
