Darsch helped the American women's team earn their first Olympic gold medal in basketball at Los Angeles 1984, before returning to the set-up at Atlanta 1996. 

She had Parkinson’s disease and died this week in her hometown of Plymouth in Massachusetts.

During her career, she guided the Ohio State women’s basketball team to the 1993 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship game, but narrowly lost 84-82 to Texas Tech University. 

Darsch moved on to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and was the first coach of the New York Liberty in 1997. 

"We are grateful for Nancy’s leadership as a pioneer of this game," New York Liberty said in a statement. 

"Her contributions to the advancement of both collegiate and professional women’s basketball and her passion for the game will forever be felt."

She helped the team reach the WNBA Finals that first season, when they lost to the Houston Comets.

Darsch later coached the Washington Mystics and was an assistant for the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm.

She helped Seattle Storm win the WNBA title in 2010.

WNBA coach Brian Agler, who worked with Darsch at Seattle, was another to pay tribute. 

"She was a great coach and even better person," Agler said, as reported by the LA Times. 

"The thing that jumped out to me was her lack of ego and how humble she was. 

"Veteran players really liked her because they respected her wisdom, and that’s what she brought to the table. 

"Basketball wisdom or life wisdom."