SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The Missouri State Lady Bears will take part in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Pack the House Challenge and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s 2009 Pink Zone campaign during their match-up with Wichita State on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 2:05 p.m. Voluntary donations benefitting the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks (BCFO) will be accepted throughout JQH Arena, and upper level seats for the Lady Bears’ contest against the Shockers will be available for $5, and lower bowl seats will be sold for $10.
The Lady Bears will don pink apparel provided by Nike to commemorate the occasion, and the BCFO will be on hand to distribute a variety of breast cancer-related merchandise, and will also provide fans the opportunity to purchase pink ribbon honoraria and memory cards that will be displayed on the east wall of the lower bowl in the main arena. Additionally, all in attendance who have been impacted by breast cancer will be recognized during the contest.
T.J. Sales will also incorporate the Pink Zone initiative into its annual t-shirt day and will make those $5 shirts available for purchase at JQH Arena on the day of the game.
In addition, Missouri State will also be celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day at JQH Arena on Feb. 21, and posters commemorating and encouraging the participation of girls and women in athletics will be available from the BCFO.
Members of the Women’s Intersport Network (WIN) will be on hand to provide registration information for the upcoming Bee Payne Stewart Strut, which benefits women’s athletics programs at Missouri State.
The WBCA’s Pink Zone initiative is a global, unified effort for the WBCA’s nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women’s basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game as a sport for women and girls. Last year alone more than 1,200 teams and organizations participated in the campaign, reaching over 830,000 fans and raising nearly $1 million for breast cancer awareness and research.
The BCFO is a local organization that keeps every dollar raised in the community to provide practical assistance to families facing breast cancer.
The Pack the House Challenge is a national program developed by the NCAA with the goal of growing the sport of women’s basketball and preparing the next generation of women’s college basketball players. The Lady Bears will compete against schools in the Missouri Valley Conference, as well as all Division I schools for a chance to be the 2009 NCAA Women’s Basketball Pack the House Challenge Champion.
The Lady Bears are back in action Thursday (Feb. 12) evening when they travel to Normal, Ill., to take on league-leading Illinois State in a 7:05 p.m. contest.
