Nikki McCray-Penson, who helped lead the famed 1996 Olympic team that started the United States' current run of seven consecutive gold medals, has died at the age of 51, it was announced Friday.
McCray-Penson starred for the Lady Vols in the 1990s in her native state of Tennessee before playing in the ABL and WNBA and later becoming a college basketball head coach.
She served as an assistant women's basketball coach last season for Rutgers, which confirmed her death. The cause of death has not been announced.
McCray-Penson and her husband, Thomas Penson, have a son, Thomas Jr., who turned 10 in February. McCray-Penson was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2013, during her tenure with South Carolina, where she was an assistant to her close friend and Olympic teammate Dawn Staley.