February 13, 2009
San Antonio – St. Mary’s University’s women’s basketball team will be battling two foes Saturday afternoon at Bill Greehey Arena – the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and breast cancer. The Rattlers’ annual WBCA Pink Zone™ game is Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.
The women’s hearts will be in this Valentine’s Day game dedicated to raising money for breast cancer research. Saturday’s game will feature three different ways for the Rattlers and their fans to raise money for cancer research. There will be commemorative t-shirts on sale for $10. A silent auction of pink Rattler women’s basketball jerseys and special Pink Zone™ St. Mary’s basketballs will be conducted in the first half of the game. All proceeds, including all ticket sales from Saturday’s game will go to the Kay Yow Foundation for breast cancer research.
The Rattlers will also honor breast cancer survivors. Members of the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation and the San Antonio Chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation will be in attendance.
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. In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. In 2008, over 1,200 teams and organizations participated, reaching over 830,000 fans and raising over $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research.
The women’s game will start at 2 p.m., with the men to follow at 4:30 p.m. Both teams won Thursday night against Oklahoma Panhandle State University, the women by a 60-49 score. The women, currently ranked 16th in the nation, are 20-2 overall and 9-0 in Heartland Conference play.
Excitement is building as the Rattlers move up in the national and regional polls because St. Mary’s will host the NCAA Division II Women’s Elite 8 (March 24, 25 and 27) and could have the opportunity to host the Heartland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament (March 6 and 7) and the NCAA South Central Region Tournament (March 13-17) in Bill Greehey Arena.