Sports

St. Joseph’s College Hosts ‘Play 4Kay’ (with video)

Kristin Ferrigno is a junior forward at St. Joseph’s College who participated in the school’s Play4Kay.
Kristin Ferrigno is a junior forward at St. Joseph’s College who participated in the school’s Play4Kay. (Photo by Jim Mancari)

The St. Joseph’s College Brooklyn, men’s and women’s basketball teams hosted their first-ever “Play 4Kay” doubleheader on Jan. 30 at The Hill Center.

Fans joined the players, coaches and staff in wearing pink to the games against Skyline Conference rival Purchase College. The purpose of wearing pink was to join hundreds of schools across the nation uniting as one to raise awareness for cancer research.

“Play 4Kay” is named after legendary NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow, who fought a courageous and very public battle against breast cancer to build a platform dedicated to improving and extending the lives of cancer patients.

In her 34-year tenure, Yow guided her teams to 20 NCAA Tournament appearances. She also became the first coach to win two Olympic gold medals and was inducted into 11 Halls of Fame.

Before she passed away on Jan. 24, 2009, at the age of 66 after her 22-year battle with breast cancer, Yow founded the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, showing that her legacy in the community extended far beyond the basketball court.

Since its inception, the “Play 4Kay” program has raised more than $5.18 million to support women’s cancer research. All proceeds from the St. Joe’s doubleheader benefitted the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

For more information or to make a donation, visit www.Play4Kay.org.