NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Athletics, in partnership with title sponsor Advocate Bromenn Medical Center, will be holding its seventh-annual women's basketball Play 4Kay cancer awareness game Friday, Feb. 3, when the women's basketball team hosts Indiana State on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena at 7 p.m. Illinois State Athletics is also partnering up with Community Cancer Center, Mennonite College of Nursing, Student Nurses Association and Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority.
Registration has closed for cancer survivors and those currently battling cancer attending the pregame reception in the Legends Room, which begins at 6 p.m., and is hosted by the Mennonite College of Nursing and the Student Nurses Association at Illinois State University. At 6:30 p.m., assistant coach Brittney Marshall will conduct a "chalk talk" for everyone in attendance. Food will be provided by Times Past Inn and Denny's Doughnuts, with the latter providing cookies.
Admission to the game is $1 (for those who did not register), and concessions will be serving $1 pink lemonades. Giveaways at the doors include Kay Yow ribbons provided by Zeta Tau Alpha and basketball cold packs from Advocate BroMenn.
Before the game and during the game, there will be a Student Nurses Association raffle, with three grand prize bundles featuring items donated from local businesses. All proceeds benefit the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Also during the game, treadmills and stationary bikes will be used. Registered participants have independently fundraised for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
At halftime, there will be a recognition of all survivors and those currently battling on Doug Collins Court. Any survivor of any type of cancer is invited to participate. There will also be a video feature on Cadence Niccum, a current Illinois State student and member of the Redline Express Dance Team.
Registrants are invited, but are not required to participate in the pregame social and halftime cancer survivor recognition.
As Redbird fans have grown to recognize, Illinois State Athletics looks forward to this event every season, as it allows Illinois State to celebrate and lift up cancer survivors, and those currently battling the difficult disease in all of its forms.Â
For questions about this event, including the pregame reception, please contact Assistant Director of Marketing Josh Remington at jdremin@ilstu.edu, or by phone at (309) 438-1320.
About Play 4Kay
Play 4Kay game efforts were started by the late Kay Yow, the former North Carolina State University Head Women's Basketball Coach. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and fought the disease three times until her death in 2009. While courageously battling cancer, Coach Yow started the Kay Yow Cancer Fund which serves to raise money for scientific research and to assist the efforts to fight against women's cancers. To date, the fund has grown nationwide and contributed over $5.2 million to support cancer research.
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