Women's Basketball
1970s
Kathy Bounds, Deb Webb, and Genie Jordan organized a basketball club for women.
Womens Intramural BasketballA women's basketball team was established for the first time. The team included two African American women, Gwen Jenkins and Cynthia Steele.
1974-1975 N.C. State University women's basketball teamHead coach Kay Yow was an assistant coach for Team USA from 1974 to 1984, winning a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. She became the head coach of Team USA from 1981 to 1988 and helped lead her squad to a gold medal in 1988.
Coach Kay Yow and the United States Olympic team show pride during the playing of the National Anthem before an exhibition game in RaleighSusan Yow with the women's basketball program became the first NC State woman to be named an All-American athlete.
N.C. State's #14 Susan Yow with a jump pass during women's basketball gameThe Wolfpack won the first women's basketball game televised in North Carolina. The team beat UNC-Chapel Hill 68-58.
Genia Beasley was NC State’s all-time leading scorer with 2,367 points. A 1978 Kodak All-American, Beasley became the first women’s player to score over 2,000 career points. In 2012, she was inducted into the NC State Athletics Hall of Fame.
#50 Genia Beasley, N.C. State University women's basketballTrudi Lacey was the first African American woman to receive a four-year scholarship in women's basketball at NC State in 1978. She helped the Wolfpack win the school's first ACC women's basketball championship in 1980. She was the first player in ACC history to earn four consecutive all-tournament honors. After college, she coached a number of teams including the Charlotte Sting, the Washington Mystics, Queens College, and Johnson and Wales University.
Trudi Lacey and Ginger Rouse, N.C. State women's basketball team, 1978-1979Women's basketball was first recognized as a league sport by the ACC.
NC State women's basketball team was named ACC regular-season champions in 1978, 1980, 1983, 1985, and 1990.
N.C. State's #50, freshman center, Sharon Manning in a game against ClemsonThe NC State women's basketball team participated in the first-ever ACC basketball tournament as the top seed. NC State lost in the championship game to Maryland.
1977-1978 N.C. State University women's basketball portraits1980s
For the first time in program history, the women's basketball team won the ACC championship.
Linda “Hawkeye” Page was one of four Wolfpack women to reach the 2,000-point mark. As a two-time First Team All-ACC selection, she was inducted into the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame with the 2016 class.
N.C. State's #43 Linda Page under heavy guard from Appalachian StateTrena Trice ranked sixth on the women's basketball program scoring charts (1,761 points) and fifth in career rebounds. She was drafted in the third round by the WNBA’s New York Liberty and played professionally overseas. In 2024, she was inducted into the NC State Athletics Hall of Fame.
N.C. State's #15 Trena Trice going for shot -- #14 (on left) Angela Daye and #22 Krista Kilburn in middle
1984-1985 N.C. State University women's basketball team
Head coach Kay Yow on the sidelines during a basketball gameTrena Trice, Annemarie Treadway, Carla Hillman and Angela Daye led the women's basketball team to its third ACC tournament championship in program history.
1986-1987 N.C. State University women's basketball team1990s
Andrea Stinson gained her second All-American honor and was the only women's basketball player with that distinction at the time. That year, she helped her team become ACC tournament champions. The previous year she had been unanimously named ACC's "Player of the Year." In 2013, she was inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame.
1988-1989 N.C. State University women's basketball teamIn program history, the NC State women's basketball team has contributed 16 draft picks, 4 first-round selections, and 3 coaches to the WNBA.
Melvin was named "Kodak All-American" and "Women's Basketball Journal All-American." She was ACC's "Rookie of the Year" in 1995 and All- ACC in 1997 and 1998. She is 1 out of 4 NC State women's basketball players with more than 1000 career points and rebounds (total 2042 points and 1020 rebounds). She was a member of the teams that made 4 NCAA Tournament appearances between 1995 and 1998 (including Final Four in 1998). She ... More
Class of 2000 N.C. State University women's basketball (inaugural class of jersey retirees sports cards)The women's basketball team reached the Final Four in the NCAA tournament.
1998-1999 N.C. State University women's basketball -- Wolfpack's poster for Final Four games2000s
NC State retired the first class of women’s basketball jerseys in school history.
NC State head coach Kay Yow began the yearly "Play4Kay" tradition in 2006 when one of the Wolfpack’s home games was dedicated towards raising awareness and money for the fight against women’s cancers.
Technician, February, 19, 2018Women's basketball coach Kay Yow celebrated her 700th win. The Wolfpack beat Florida State, 68-51. Yow eventually racked up 737 wins (at NC State and Elon), making her the fifth highest-winning NCAA Division I basketball coach.
Kay Yow making wolf symbol with her hands at women's basketball gameWomen's basketball coach Kay Yow passed away after a long battle with cancer in 2009. One of the few women to coach more than 1,000 games at a single institution, her NC State record was 680-325. Hoops 4 Hope and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund was initiated to raise money for cancer research. Yow was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the NC State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Kay Yow memorial2010s
Wes Moore became women basketball's head coach on April 5, 2013. In 2017, he was honored as ACC's "Coach of the Year." It was the first such honor awarded in the 43-year history of the NC State women’s basketball program.
The women's basketball team won 26 games and returned to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007.
2020s
Elissa Cunane became the first NC State women’s basketball player to earn a spot on an AP All-American Team after six honorable mention recognitions in the program’s history.
Technician, November, 19, 2018For the first time in the program's history, the women's basketball team claimed three consecutive ACC tournament wins in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In 2022, the team won its first regular-season ACC title in 32 years.
Former women's basketball player and national broadcaster Debbie Antonelli was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Antonelli was a member of the historic 1984-1985 squad.
The women's basketball team advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998.