Southeastern Louisiana University

HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana women’s basketball program will participate in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and Kay Yow Foundation’s Pink Zone initiative designed to raise breast cancer awareness in conjunction with its Southland Conference contest versus defending league champion UTSA on Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. in the University Center.

The WBCA Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.

The WBCA began the WBCA 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. The Lady Lions first participated in 2008. With Southeastern supporting the initiative for the third year, Southeastern head coach Lori Davis Jones hopes for the event to continue to evolve.

“We are extremely proud and honored to be able to participate in the Pink Zone initiative again this year,” Jones commented. “Our program, university and community are all very committed to promoting breast cancer awareness. The game will give us the special opportunity to play our part in the fight against breast cancer, while also showcasing our exciting brand of Division I women's basketball.”

In addition to raising awareness, the goal of the event is to contribute funds to the Kay Yow Foundation, which raises money for awareness and education of the disease. Yow, a former head coach at North Carolina State and the coach of the 1988 United States gold medal winning team, was a champion of breast cancer who lost her fight to the disease, but whose life is honored through the foundation.

The Lady Lions, who will be sporting special pink uniforms, will honor breast cancer survivors at halftime. Fans in attendance are encouraged to wear a pink shirt to the game and the first 500 fans to arrive at the University Center will receive a free t-shirt.

In addition to being honored at halftime, the survivors will have time for fellowship with other survivors pre-game and enjoy refreshments from 2-3 p.m. in the hospitality room courtesy of North Oaks Obstetrics and Gynecology. The survivors and their families will also have free access to all of the day’s activities.

Prior to the 3 p.m. contest, A 5K Fun Run/Walk will be held, beginning and ending in the University Center parking lot. The race begins at 1:30 p.m. with registration starting at 12:30 p.m. The entry fee is $10 and participants will receive a free t-shirt and two tickets to the game.

For additional information on the day’s activities, contact Dr. Christina Merckx at cmerckx@selu.edu or (985) 549-5091. Survivors are asked to RSVP with Merckx by Wednesday, Feb. 3. For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. For more information on the Kay Yow Foundation, visit www.kayyowwbcacancerfund.asp.