This past Saturday Jan. 28, the Gryphon women’s basketball team played in the fourth annual Shoot for the Cure charity game against the Brock Badgers to raise money for breast cancer research. The Gryphons trumped the Badgers 66-62, however, the real victory that afternoon was the money raised for breast cancer treatment and research. Players raised over $2,600 in pledges even before tip-off on Saturday. With ticket sales and donations throughout the game, a total of over $3,200 was raised, surpassing the total of last year’s event by $500.

Forward Kayla Goodhoofd feels that both the recent loss to Brock and the motivation to be playing for the cause gave the team a “competitive edge” going into the game. Both the cause and the win were important to the team.

“We have been in a bit of slump but this is so good for us” said Goodhoofd.

Teammate and point guard Marlee Freeman echoed the importance of the game, saying the team “needed a big win to show people what we are capable of.” When asked if playing to fight breast cancer held special meaning for the team, Freeman also said that “it’s always nice to play for a good cause”.

Just last week, on Jan. 21 2012, former Ryserson women’s basketball coach Sandy Pothier lost her two year battle with cancer at age 50. Freeman expressed that in the wake of this loss Saturday’s game was “significant for the entire basketball community.”

100 per cent of the funds raised at Saturday’s Shoot for the Cure event are being donated to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada. In the first four years of the Shoot for the Cure program nearly $400,000 have been raised for the fight against breast cancer. This year all 43 CIS basketball schools are registered with the Shoot for the Cure organization, and each will play at least one charity game similar to that played this weekend.

The efforts of the team to support breast cancer and to bring in another win are certainly admirable.

“I am always proud of these guys all the time, they’re just a great bunch of [players] to coach, they work hard [and] our team chemistry is beyond belief,” said head coach Tom O’Brien, which he feels is key to their success. However O’Brien is not proud of his team for Saturday’s game alone.

“I am proud of how they always compete and how they used a 30 point loss to the Badgers last time the teams met as motivation going into Saturday’s matchup,” said O’Brien.

The money raised this weekend by the Gryphons will be added to the grand total collected by all teams during the 2011-2012 season, helping the organization reach its goal of half a million dollars within its first five years of operation.

“It’s an amazing win, we really needed one. I think it’s awesome that we could [support] this cause, we had so many fans out– there was a packed gym, so I think we raised what we wanted to raise so it was definitely a special day,” said Goodhoofd.

The Gryphons women’s basketball season continues this Wednesday Feb.1  at 6:00 p.m. when they take on the Western Mustangs.

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