Former Tennessee Lady Vols basketball star Daedra Charles-Furlow dies at 49

Jody Adams was set to deliver a speech Saturday night in Wichita, Kan., when her cell phone began to hum from an unknown number in Michigan.

"I don't know what made me pick it up," the former Tennessee Lady Vols point guard said.

Former teammate Peggy Evans-Carr was calling to tell her that their former teammate, Daedra Charles-Furlow , had died. That was reason enough for Adams to drop her phone. Instead, she prayed.

"She was my roommate," Adams said Sunday morning. "God made her special, no doubt. She was a phenomenal leader, charismatic. She had a heart for people."

The 49-year-old Charles-Furlow was one of six former Tennessee Lady Vols to have her women's basketball jersey number retired. She won two national championships during her UT career (1988-91). In 1991, she became the first SEC player to win the Wade Trophy and was named SEC woman athlete of the year.

Pearl Moore Gallaher, another member of those Tennessee teams, echoed Adams' sentiment via a text message regarding Charles-Furlow.

"We have been roommates, teammates, Godmother to each other's child, sisters and best friends," Moore-Gallaher wrote.

No details regarding Charles-Furlow's death are yet available.

Charles-Furlow, who was living in Detroit with her mother, Helen, was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Fellow inductee Mel Greenberg posted on Twitter early Sunday morning: "What a shock. She had just reached out with a note several weeks ago. Gave no hint of a medical problem and said looking forward to attending induction in June for new class."

Despite sitting out her freshman season as a Prop 48 student, Charles-Furlow still managed to score 1,495 career points and grab 858 rebounds. In 2006, ESPN named her as one of the top 25 all-time players for women's college basketball.

"She was one of the best players who ever played here," UT coach Holly Warlick said. "She was big and mobile. She was a terror inside.

"Regardless of that, she had a tremendous love for this program. Everybody loved her."

Charles-Furlow's nickname was "Night Train." It was given to her by former Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore and referred to former Detroit Lions football star Dick "Night Train" Lane. Debbie Hawhee, another former Lady Vol teammate of Charles-Furlow, referenced the nickname in a Facebook post:

"Pure power, Train. Often dancing, always with a big, broad smile. We all learned so much from her. We are reeling."

After UT, Charles was a bronze medalist in 1992 with the U.S. Olympic team. She played overseas and one season with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks in 1997.

After coaching at Auburn and hometown Detroit Mercy, she returned to UT as an assistant coach in 2008 and later served as director of character development through 2012.

While back at Tennessee, she had a bout with breast cancer.

"You never knew if Daedra was having a bad day, even when she was going through her battle with breast cancer," Warlick said.

Charles-Furlow later coached girls' basketball at West High.

Along with her mother, Charles-Furlow is survived by her husband, Anthony Furlow, and her son, Anthonee.

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