April 3, 2024

FAIRFIELD’S CARLY THIBAULT-DUBONIS RECIPIENT OF 2024 KAY YOW AWARD
Presented annually to the top head coach in Women’s division I college basketball.

PHOENIX, AZ -- Fairfield’s Carly Thibault-DuBonis is the recipient of the 2024 Kay Yow award, which is presented annually to the top head coach in Women’s division I college basketball, who embodies a winning spirit while displaying great character, on and off the court

Coach Carly led Fairfield to their most historic season in school history. In just her second season at the helm, the Stags to a program-record 31 wins as part of an historic 31-2 campaign, still standing as the second-highest winning percentage in the nation. That mark featured a conference-record 29 game winning streak and MAAC Championship, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"What a humbling moment to receive the Kay Yow Coach of the Year Award," Coach Carly said. "Coach Yow's is a giant in our game and her legacy is still felt so strongly by her former players, coaches, and the entirety of the Women's Basketball community.  This award is incredibly special because it not only recognizes the success of our team, but more importantly it honors Coach Yow and how she led and mentored young women. Thank you to Coach Yow's family and the rest of the voters, it is a true honor to be mentioned in the same breath as Coach Yow as well as the incredible coaches who won this award before me. You're only as good as the people around you, and I'm thankful to have the best group I could ask for"

Fairfield was a remarkable 20-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Stags also achieved the program's first-ever national ranking as they slotted No. 25 in the AP Top-25 poll and also received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll. They finished the regular season ranked fourth in the Women's Mid-Major Top 25.

Under Coach Carly's guidance, Fairfield was among the nation's best on both the offensive and defensive ends. The squad finished in the top-10 in scoring defense allowing just 55.2 points per game on a .361 opponent field goal percentage, tied for the second-lowest in program history.

On the offensive end, the Stags tallied 2,391 points on the season, the second-highest in program history and the most in over 30 years. Fairfield also finished in the top-25 in the country with league-bests in assists per game (17.2) and field goal percentage (.462). Fairfield's high-powered offense was highlighted by a program record 292 made 3-pointers, the second-most in conference history

CollegeInsider.com pays tribute to one of the true icons of women’s college basketball with the Kay Yow Award.

Yow became the sixth head coach in the history of Division I women’s basketball to reach the 700-win plateau, finishing with a sterling record of 737–344 in her 34 seasons at NC State.

She was the first women’s coach in ACC history to eclipse 600 wins at the same school and directed NC State to 19 top-three finishes in the ACC standings. Her 1997-98 squad advanced all the way to the Final Four in Kansas City.

She was wildly successful in every forum in which she coached, leading gold medal winners at the 1981 World University Games, the 1986 Goodwill Games, 1986 World Championship Games and the 1988 Olympic Games.

As an assistant, Yow was on the Olympic gold medal winning 1984 coaching staff in Los Angeles. In addition, she was an assistant on the gold medal-winning teams at the 1979 World University Games, the 1983 Pan American Games and the 1984 R. Williams Jones Cup.

Coach Yow had been on a leave of absence from coaching since early January 2009 because of her battle with cancer. She passed away from stage 4 breast cancer on January 24, 2009.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.