Illinois State women’s basketball will be holding its ninth annual Play 4Kay Cancer Awareness game at 2 p.m. Sunday, February 10, when the team hosts Indiana State at Redbird Arena. This game takes on a personal meaning for head coach Kristen Gillespie, who played under the late coach Kay Yow at North Carolina State University.
There will be a pregame social for cancer survivors and those currently battling cancer hosted by the Mennonite College of Nursing at Illinois State University. Survivors and those currently battling can register for four free tickets to the game and the reception by completing the registration form.
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. Registrants are invited, but are not required to participate in the pregame social or halftime recognition.
As Redbird fans have grown to realize, Illinois State Athletics looks forward to this event every season, as it allows the Illinois State community to celebrate and lift up cancer survivors, and those currently battling the difficult disease in all of its forms.
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, 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.
