NC State team mourns at coach Kay Yow's burial

North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow was laid to rest Saturday, a week after her death following a long fight against cancer.

Yow was buried in her hometown of Gibsonville, about 70 miles west of N.C. State's campus in Raleigh. The Hall of Famer coached at nearby Elon for four years before taking over at N.C. State in 1975 and finishing her career with more than 700 victories.

About 300 mourners attended the graveside service on a chilly and windy morning, including the Wolfpack team and coaching staff. Each placed a rose on Yow's casket and then boarded a bus for Sunday's game at Virginia Tech.

Gibsonville mayor Leonard Williams read a proclamation calling for flags to be lowered to half-mast for the day in Yow's memory.

The service capped an emotionally draining week for the Wolfpack. After her death last weekend, the team went to a mall Monday to choose clothes for Yow's funeral, a task interim coach Stephanie Glance said was easier to do together than individually.

The team returned to practice Tuesday, then attended a campus tribute ceremony at Reynolds Coliseum - home of "Kay Yow Court" - on Wednesday night. The next day, the team played its first game since her death, falling to Boston College 62-51.

On Friday, more than 1,400 mourners - including Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and former NFL coach and N.C. State alumnus Bill Cowher - attended Yow's funeral service in a church in Cary, just outside of Raleigh.

"We all have known this was coming and we've all known the life that Kay's lived," said Neil Whitaker, Yow's cousin and funeral director. "You move on, but there are things you have to keep in mind. You need to focus on what she wants us to focus on, and that's being the right kind of person and doing the right things and having a strong Christian faith."

Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, but led the U.S. Olympic women's team to a gold medal the following season. The disease recurred during the 2004-05 season, forcing to her to leave her team twice in past seasons to focus on treatment even as she raised research money and cancer awareness.

She took a four-game leave in December because she said she had very little energy, and announced shortly after the new year that she would not return this season. She soon entered a hospital and spent about a week there before she died at age 66.