WNBA Corridor Of Famer Nikki McCray-Penson Dies At 51

Two-time Olympic gold-medalist and previous ABL MVP Nikki McCray-Penson has died. She used to be 51.

McCray-Penson used to be an assistant ladies’s basketball trainer at Rutgers remaining season and the college on Friday showed her demise. She used to be recognized with breast most cancers in 2013.

She joined Crack of dawn Staley as an assistant trainer at South Carolina from 2008-17. She used to be a part of the Gamecocks’ first nationwide championship in 2017.

McCray-Penson received gold medals with the U.S. ladies’s basketball workforce on the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. The 1996 workforce sparked the formation of the WNBA and ABL. She performed within the ABL and received MVP honors in 1997 sooner than heading over to the WNBA. McCray-Penson used to be a three-time All-Celebrity in that league whilst enjoying for the Washington Mystics.

Washington Mystics' Nikki McCray, right, is defended by New York Liberty's Teresa Weatherspoon during the first half Saturday, June 16, 2001 in New York. Two-time Olympic gold medalist and former ABL MVP Nikki McCray-Penson has died. She was 51. McCray-Penson was an assistant women's basketball coach at Rutgers last season and the school confirmed her death, although the cause of her passing was not immediately known. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Washington Mystics’ Nikki McCray, proper, is defended by means of New York Liberty’s Teresa Weatherspoon all through the primary part Saturday, June 16, 2001 in New York. Two-time Olympic gold medalist and previous ABL MVP Nikki McCray-Penson has died. She used to be 51. McCray-Penson used to be an assistant ladies’s basketball trainer at Rutgers remaining season and the college showed her demise, even if the reason for her passing used to be no longer right away identified. (AP Photograph/Mark Lennihan, Record)

She performed 8 seasons within the WNBA sooner than retiring in 2006. She used to be an assistant trainer at Western Kentucky for 3 seasons.

McCray-Penson then become the top trainer at Outdated Dominion for 3 seasons, going 24-6 in 2020. She spent 12 months at Mississippi State sooner than stepping down for well being causes and returned to training at Rutgers remaining season.

McCray-Penson performed at Tennessee from 1991-95 below Corridor of Popularity trainer Pat Summitt. The guard used to be a two-time SEC Participant of the Yr and a two-time Kodak All-The us standout all through her junior and senior seasons for the Woman Vols.

She used to be inducted into the Ladies’s Basketball Corridor of Popularity in 2012.