Lions to Play4Kay on February 19 versus LMU

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – South Atlantic Conference women's basketball teams will once again partner with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the Play4Kay initiative to participate in the 2020 Play4Kay week February 14-24.

The "pink phenomenon" in women's basketball began during the 2004-2005 basketball season, when Coach Yow's cancer recurred after being in remission for 17 years. Play4Kay is the grassroots fundraising initiative of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. It was originally called Think Pink, later Pink Zone, and most recently and finally, Play4Kay. Women's basketball teams wore pink in honor of Coach Yow and those battling cancer. In 2007, this movement resulted in the establishment of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and its Play4Kay initiative.

In 2018-19, South Atlantic Conference women's basketball member institutions raised $14,500 for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.  Anderson raised the most money for the initiative in the Conference, as it raised $6,305. This is the largest amount raised by a SAC school in 10 years. Anderson was also named the National NCAA Division II winner last season.

The South Atlantic Conference joined the initiative in raising money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund during the 2008-2009 season and to date has raised more than $126,500.

Coach Kay Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987. She passed away in 2009, after a 22-year, on-again, off-again battle with the disease. Coach Yow fought that battle in the public arena. Her hope was to inspire others to make a difference in a fight that impacts each and every one of us.

Her love of basketball started at age 7, and her dedication to the game took her all the way to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. As head coach of the North Carolina State University women's basketball team and past president and founding member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), her voice became a galvanizing force within the sport of women's basketball.

In her 38 years as a college head coach, Coach Yow was one of only six Division I women's basketball head coaches to achieve 700 career victories. She guided her squads to 20 of 27 NCAA Tournaments, 11 trips to the Sweet 16, and a trip to the Elite Eight and the Final Four in 1998. Yow was part of an elite group of nine Olympic coaches chosen to lead USA Basketball in the pursuit of Olympic gold. Additionally, Yow became only the third women's basketball coach in NCAA Division I history to coach 1,000 games with one program.

Last season, the director of Play4Kay Jenny Palmeeter expressed her appreciation to the SAC and its member institutions. "We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the SAC, its administrators, women's basketball coaches and athletic directors for their continued support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and our Play4Kay initiative. As a conference, you continue to lead the way, raising money to aid in the fight against all cancers affecting women.  This speaks volumes about who you are and the impact you wish to make."

Online donations can be accepted here.

For more information about the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and Play4Kay, click here.