Women's Basketball Turns Leede Arena Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Game

Dartmouth women's basketball hosted its annual breast cancer awareness game on Friday, February 27. A crowd of more than 900, most wearing pink in support of the cause, watched the Big Green defeat the Columbia Lions 60-50.

The Big Green received a huge show of support from Hartland Elementary School, which created a sea of pink in Leede Arena with 300 students, staff and family members proudly sporting pink T-shirts the school sold as a fundraiser for the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. The Hartland Elementary School Chorus sang the national anthem before the game.

The Big Green was joined by two cancer survivors for pre-game introductions. Dartmouth players presented the two women with flowers, and they stood with the team as the starters were announced.

At halftime, fans were treated to an entertaining performance by the Company at Dancers Corner, a local dance studio. The girls brought the house down with their hip hop-inspired routine, complete with pink-accented costumes.

The first 100 fans in attendance received pink rally towels, and pink T-shirts were tossed into the crowd courtesy of JMH Wealth Management.

It's always a special occasion when the Big Green “Play 4 Kay” in honor of longtime North Carolina State head coach Kay Yow, who guided her teams to 20 NCAA Tournaments, including 11 trips to the Sweet 16 and a trip to the 1998 Final Four. Yow was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and battled the disease publicly with remarkable grace and courage, rallying a nation of coaches to unify against one opponent – cancer. Before passing away in 2009, Yow founded the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The Play 4 Kay Initiative is a national fundraising effort to raise breast cancer awareness and research funds in honor of Yow's legacy. Columbia's head coach Stephanie Glance worked with Kay Yow for 15 years at North Carolina State.

Schedules