Funeral arrangements announced for former University of South Carolina women’s basketball assistant coach Nikki McCray-Penson

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – The Family of Nikki McCray-Penson, has announced funeral arrangements for the former University of South Carolina (USC) women’s basketball assistant coach and the two-time Olympic gold-medalist.

USC women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley made the announcement on her Twitter profile on Sunday afternoon:

The funeral for McCray-Penson will be held Saturday, July 15, at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee at 2 p.m. local time. The family of McCray-Penson is asking that instead of flowers, well-wishers will send donations to Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

McCray-Penson was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Rutgers last season and was a member of the Gamecocks’ first national championship in 2017.

“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived,” Staley said in a statement. “From her days as a brash rookie in USA Basketball to becoming my friend and colleague to the way she mentored young players, Nikki did everything with her whole heart. … she had such light, such positive energy inside her no matter what was going on. I am heartbroken that cancer has taken that light from us, but I know that she would want us to be the ones to carry it on in her absence.”

McCray-Penson was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. She is survived by her husband Thomas and son Thomas Jr.

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