Carver-Montgomery Hall of Fame girls basketball coach Yvonne Michelle Simmons has died.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association confirmed the news Thursday afternoon.

Simmons was 70. She died after an extended illness, according to the AHSAA.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of coach Simmons,” said AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs. “She was always a positive influence on everyone around her. Her love for her students and for the sport of basketball was amazing, and she set the standard for excellence for coaches during his many years as a coach and teacher.”

Simmons became the Carver girls basketball coach in 1985 and guided the Wolverines to 558 victories in 29 years. Her teams won a state title in 1993 and finished as runner-up three other times (1988, 1989 and 2010). Carver made 12 state tournament appearances during her tenure.

“She has made a major impact on all who knew her,” Briggs said. “We offer our most sincere condolences and prayers to her family, her extended Montgomery Public Schools family and all her friends in Montgomery County and across the state. We pray God will sustain them during this time of such great loss.”

Simmons served as athletic director at Carver from 1998 until her retirement in 2014, becoming the first woman to hold that position in the Montgomery County School System.

She was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.

Funeral arrangements were not yet available.