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Lady Vols Basketball Hall of Famer, Olympic gold-medalist Nikki McCray-Penson dies at 51

McCray-Penson, a Collierville native, was a three-time WNBA All-Star and Women's Basketball Hall of Famer. She led the Lady Vols to four NCAA tournament appearances.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — UPDATE (7/10): Services for Nikki McCray-Penson will take place Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.

Visitation is from 1 to 2 p.m. at Mt. Olive Baptist Church on Dandridge Avenue, according to Lady Vols Basketball.

The service will follow. 

PREVIOUS STORY: Nikki McCray-Penson, a Lady Vols Basketball star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, has died. She was 51.

According to the Associated Press, Rutgers confirmed McCray-Penson had died on Friday. The AP said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013.

McCray-Penson, a Collierville native, was a three-time WNBA All-Star and Women's Basketball Hall of Famer. She led the Lady Vols to four NCAA tournament appearances and two SEC tournament championships during the Pat Summitt era between 1991 and 1995.

Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tennessee forward Nikki McCray, right, races down court pursued by Georgias Saudia Roundtree during the second half of NCAA Womens Final Four.

The two-time Olympian won gold medals with the U.S. women's basketball team in Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000. She ended her playing career with the Chicago Sky in 2006 as a three-time All-Star, racking up 2,528 total career points.

McCray-Penson went on to coach women's basketball at the University of South Carolina as an assistant coach. She later served as head coach at Old Dominion and Mississippi State University. Last season she served as an assistant women's basketball coach at Rutgers.

"We are saddened to hear of the passing of Nikki McCray-Penson. The former @CHSDragons and @LadyVol_Hoops star was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 2015," the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association said Friday. " She set 4 state records by the time she finished her high school career, all of which still stand today."

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