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Private funeral held for former Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A private funeral service for former Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt was held Thursday.

Erin Freeman, who has been acting as a spokeswoman for the Summitt family this week, confirmed that the funeral took place Thursday in Clarksville, Tennessee. When Summitt died Tuesday at the age of 64, her family had issued a statement saying a private ceremony would be held in Middle Tennessee without disclosing a date or exact location.

Tennessee coach Holly Warlick, who played for Summitt and worked as an assistant on her staff for 27 seasons, tweeted Thursday that "She has been laid to rest. ... Godspeed Pat. ... Godspeed. U r home."

About 30-35 of Summitt's former Tennessee players as well as many of her former assistant coaches attended the private ceremony. The group of former players included Michelle Marciniak and Chamique Holdsclaw, who discussed the service via social media.

Holdsclaw said in an Instagram post that the service was "so beautiful."

"It was so good to see our Lady Vol family," Holdsclaw wrote. "We are going to miss you in the physical, but we should all know we have an angel pulling for us 24/7. I'm going to miss the great hugs you give. Sleep in peace."

Holdsclaw noted that Marciniak gave one of the eulogies. Marciniak tweeted that "eulogizing Pat Summitt today (was) made easier with LVFL (Lady Vol For Life) support. Pat told us, 'Trust me,' and we did."

Summitt won eight national titles and a Division I record 1,098 games in 38 seasons at Tennessee before stepping down in 2012, one year after announcing she had early-onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

A public ceremony to celebrate Summitt's life is scheduled for July 14 at Thompson-Boling Arena on Tennessee's campus. Thompson-Boling Arena includes the Lady Volunteers' home court, which is named after Summitt.

FILE - In this April 8, 2008, file photo, Tennessee coach Pat Summitt gets a hug from Candace Parker (3) after Tennessee beat Stanford 64-48 in the championship game at the Final Four in the NCAA women's basketball tournament in Tampa, Fla. Summitt, the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history who uplifted the women's game from obscurity to national prominence during her career at Tennessee, died Tuesday morning, June 28, 2016. She was 64. "She's touched so many lives in the game of basketball and has grown the game," Parker said. "She's changed the way women's basketball is played. She's changed the nature of women's basketball. She changed the way I looked at life. She's not a person that just talks the talk, she walks the walk as well." (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File) The Associated Press
FILE - In this April 2, 2014, file photo, Tyler Summitt, left, his mother, Hall-of-Fame Tennessee Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt, and former Louisiana Tech coach Leon Barmore share a moment after a press conference to announce Tyler Summitt as the new women's basketball coach at Louisiana Tech, in Ruston, La. Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt dies Tuesday, June 28, 2016. She was 64. (AP Photo/The Shreveport Times, Douglas Collier, FIle) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT SHREVEPORTTIMES.COM; NO SALES The Associated Press
FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2006, file photo, Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, left, and Texas coach Jody Conradt talk prior to a basketball game in Austin, Texas. Hall of Fame basketball coach Pat Summitt died Tuesday, June 28, 2016. Conradt says it was evident early in Pat Summitt's career that she would "leave her footprints on our game." (AP Photo/Deborah Cannon, File) The Associated Press
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