Basketball Team Joins the ???Pink Zone???

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Feb. 8, 2010) – The Mount Holyoke College Department of Athletics has partnered with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer through the “Pink Zone” initiative. “Pink Zone” is a global, unified effort for the WBCA nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.

“This is a great opportunity for us to recognize all the breast cancer survivors as well as those we've lost from breast cancer. I think we've all been affected in some way by this disease, and raising awareness and donating our admission charges to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer fund is the least we can do,” said Mount Holyoke head coach Michelle Scecina.

The WBCA began “Pink Zone”, formerly known as "Think Pink", in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities. In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. One year later, over 1,200 teams and organizations participated, reaching over 830,000 fans and raising over $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research. The 2009 campaign raised over $1.3 million, reached over 912,000 fans and unified more than 1,600 participating teams and organizations.

Members of the Mount Holyoke team will be sporting pink shooting shirts and shoelaces at Saturday’s home game versus MIT. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 p.m. Proceeds from admissions fees to the contest will be donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. Pink ribbons will be available for purchase, with the proceeds going to the fund as well. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and contribute to research initiatives.

Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of death for all women and the leading overall cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 20 and 59. In the United States today, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes. Incidence in women has increased from one in 20 in 1960 to one in eight today.

The good news is that mortality rates from breast cancer have been declining since about 1990, with larger decreases in women younger than 50. These decreases are believed to be the result of earlier detection through screening and increased awareness, as well as improved treatment.

“Mount Holyoke College is pleased to join the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and the larger women’s basketball community across the nation to raise awareness about breast cancer. It is our hope by joining this effort we can increase awareness among the women of our community and contribute to continued cancer research and education,” said Mount Holyoke Athletic Director Laurie Priest.

The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund is a 501 c(3) charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against cancer through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause. It was established under The V Foundation in December 2007 and honors the late Kay Yow, who served as head coach of the North Carolina State University women’s basketball coach alongside then men's coach Jim Valvano before he succumbed to cancer in 1993.

Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and passed away on January 24, 2009 after facing her third bout with the disease. In her 38 years as a head coach at the college level, Yow was one of only six Division I head women's basketball mentors to achieve 700 career victories. Yow was also the head coach of the 1988 US Olympic Team that won the gold medal in Seoul. She was a past president and founding member of the WBCA and was a galvanizing voice for the Association.

The NCAA has also joined the WBCA Pink Zone initiative by implementing the “Calling for a Cure” campaign, where all NCAA women’s basketball officials will be blowing a pink whistle February 12-21. Additionally, officials are encouraged to make a donation to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund. The NCAA has raised $45,000 during the "Calling for a Cure" campaign over the past two years.For more information about the “Pink Zone” initiative, as well as the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, please visit the WBCA on the web at www.wbca.org.