Lady Pioneers Join Pink Zone Cause

The Alfred State College women's basketball team has joined the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Pink Zone cause.  The Lady Pioneers have joined over 1,500 colleges in raising money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.  ASC's Pink Zone contest will be held on Saturday February 21 when Alfred State takes on Jamestown CC at 1 p.m.

The WBCA Pink Zone is a global, unified effort for the 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.  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.

Funds raised through the Pink Zone will be donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.  The late Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, was a past president and founding member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and a galvanizing voice for the Association. Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease.  In her 38 years as a head coach at the college-level, Yow was one of only six Division I head women's basketball mentors to achieve 700 career victories. Yow was also the head coach of the 1988 US Olympic Team that won the gold medal in Seoul.

Both Alfred State and Jamestown CC will be wearing Pink Zone warm-up shirts and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the contest in support of the cause.  Donations will be accepted at the gate and activities are planned to help raise funds for the cause.

Last season, Alfred State raised over $900 for the Kay Yow Foundation at the school's annual charity game.