Nikki McCray-Penson, a former NCAA and WNBA star and head coach of the Mississippi State women’s basketball team, has died. She was 51.

While the cause of death was not immediately known, McCray-Penson had been open about her battle with breast cancer after she was diagnosed with the illness in 2013.

McCray-Penson was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and All-American as a point guard at Tennessee from 1991-95. She went on to play two years in the American Basketball League (ABL), where she was named MVP for the 1996-97 season, and nine years in the WNBA. Splitting time between the Washington Mystics, Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, San Antonio Stars and Chicago Sky, McCray-Penson was a three-time WNBA All-Star and surpassed 2,550 points for her career.

The Tennessee native spent 16 years coaching after her playing career, most recently as an assistant coach for the Rutgers women’s basketball team. Her most notable coaching stints came as an assistant on Dawn Staley’s South Carolina staff from 2008-17 and as a head coach at Old Dominion (2017-20) and Mississippi State (2020-21).

“Thank you my little sister, my friend, my foxhole partner, my teammate, my fast food snacker, my basketball junkie, my fellow Olympian, my gold medalist and now my angel,” Staley wrote on Twitter along with a statement. “Suffer no more Nik Nik.”

McCray-Penson resigned from her post at Mississippi State in October 2021 due to health concerns.

“Over the past several weeks, I have been faced again with health concerns I had hoped were behind me,” she said in a statement at the time. “In light of these developments, I have decided to step away from coaching in order to devote my full time and energy to addressing those issues.”

Two-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, who played under McCray-Penson at South Carolina, expressed her condolences on Twitter on Friday. The two won a NCAA championship together with the Gamecocks in 2017.

McCray-Penson also won two gold medals as a member of Team USA’s 1996 and 2000 Olympic teams. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

She is survived by her husband, Thomas Penson, and their son.

Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer is retiring after a historic 50-year coaching career, Rutgers announced Saturday.

Stringer accrued 1,055 wins, four Final Four appearances and 28 NCAA Tournament showings in her storied career at Cheyney State, Iowa and Rutgers.

“I am officially announcing my retirement,” Stringer said in a release. “My life has been defined by coaching and I’ve been on this journey for over five decades. It is rare that someone gets to do what they love for this long and I have been fortunate to do that. I love Rutgers University for the incredible opportunity they offered me and the tremendous victories we achieved together.”

The iconic coach did not join the Rutgers team during the 2021-2022 season due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. Associate Tim Eatman took over for Stringer as the team’s head coach last season.

“This was the hardest decision of my life, but I thank God he has allowed me to do the thing I love most. I am ready to start my new journey and spending more time with my family, children, and grandchildren. I am truly blessed to have had so many wonderful people in my life.”

Stringer’s retirement will become effective on September 1, and a national search for the school’s next women’s basketball coach will begin immediately.