As big as Sunday’s game was, Nell Fortner and Pat Summitt both had a tough time dealing with the game’s lack of significance when put into perspective.

Both coaches lost a dear friend Saturday, when longtime North Carolina State coach Kay Yow died at the age of 66 after a long battle with breast cancer.

“It just hits home,” Summitt said. “We’re playing a basketball game and she lost her life, and that’s a sad reality when she passed.”

Auburn and Tennessee honored Yow with a moment of silence before the game. Both teams wore white warm-up shirts that displayed Yow’s name in orange lettering.

“I certainly want to thank Auburn for making that happen,” Fortner said. “Coach Yow was an incredible woman. She was one of my dearest friends in this profession, and it has been very difficult to see her fight and lose her battle of cancer.”

Fortner and the Tigers played against N.C. State early this season, before Yow took a leave of absence. All of Auburn’s players personally met Yow, who was more concerned about their lives instead of her own personal struggles, Fortner said.

“It was never about Kay, never about her fight with cancer,” Fortner said. “It was always about getting more money for research and about others.”

Yow won 734 games in 34 seasons at North Carolina State. After she was diagnosed with cancer, she became heavily involved with the V Foundation and helped raised money toward helping to find a cure for cancer.

“I think that without question she has touched more lives,” Summitt said. “Not just her players and her staff, but people throughout this game and this country. My heart goes out to her family, and right now I just have to know that Kay Yow is in a better place.”

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