IU to play in Pink Zone on Sunday

Pink will take over Assembly Hall this Sunday, and no, it’s not Victoria’s Secret.  
Instead, the normally cream- and crimson-clad IU squad will don the lighter color to celebrate the Hoosiers’ annual Pink Zone game.

This game offers the players a chance to take on a much fiercer opponent: breast cancer. 

And because this particular opponent ravages much more than the basketball court, many Hoosiers unfortunately have experience with the disease.

“My grandmother died of breast cancer a few years back,” junior forward Hope Elam said. “I’m definitely for breast cancer research and finding a cure, and this game will definitely mean a lot to me.”

The players will be wearing pink warmup suits and shoes to help increase breast cancer awareness. The coaches will also wear pink on the sideline to honor those in and out of the basketball community who have suffered from the disease.

The event was originally created in 2007 when then-North Carolina State coach Kate Yow was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Since the Hall of Fame coach lost her battle in 2009, the event has turned into both a memorial and an advocacy event, which seeks to inform women about the importance of early detection.

The American Cancer Society will also have tables set up with information about early detection and information for those who wish to volunteer. 

With this collaboration, the women hope to increase local awareness and that their involvement will inspire others to get involved with the effort.

“Cancer is something that hits everybody’s hearts real deeply, whether it affected you personally or not,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “I just think that this thing with breast cancer just seems like it’s relentless, and if we kind of come together as a Hoosier community, we can show our solidarity and our efforts to combat it.” 

Legette-Jack also has a personal connection with cancer as it took her father’s life.
Those whose connection was life-altering or even life-ending will be honored during halftime with a special video presentation.  

But even those who have not been directly affected or involved with the devastation breast cancer brings can still take something away from the Pink Zone game. 

And some Hoosiers have done just that, especially senior guard Jamie Braun, who realizes breast cancer does not segregate and that anyone can fall victim to the disease. 

“It’s always exciting when we can try to give back in any way possible to the research, Braun said. “It’s just something nice we can do as women to help.”