The Penn Stater Magazine

Pink Everywhere

February 15, 2009 at 7:11 pm Tina Hay Leave a comment

Today was the Lady Lion basketball team’s third annual “Pink Zone” day, an event to raise awareness for breast-cancer research, and I think I’ll be seeing pink for the next three days at least. The Bryce Jordan Center was just a sea of pink today—the fans wore pink, the Lady Lion players wore pink, the Iowa players wore pink, the refs used pink whistles, the game ball had a pink Nike swoosh stripe … you get the idea.

There was a very impressive halftime ceremony honoring breast-cancer survivors and their families, and a bunch of money (exact amount to be announced later) was raised for breast-cancer-related charities.

The Lady Lions lost, 63-57—they blew a 20-point lead, which was frustrating. And some of the players in tears after the game; they’ve just lost far too many close games this year. But despite their disappointment they stuck around to sign pink T-shirts and pink ballcaps for the fans.

Below are some photos I took during the game. I’m the PA announcer for women’s basketball games at the Jordan Center, so my seat at the scoring table gives me a great view … I don’t usually bring my camera, as I’m usually too busy during the game to shoot photos, but today was special.

The Lion mascot joined breast-cancer survivors at halftime.

Players from both teams wore pink uniforms. This is Mashea Williams with the ball.

Penn State coach Coquese Washington

Even the refs got into the pink act.

Brianne O'Rourke was one of a number of Lady Lions who stuck around to sign autographs after the game.

Oh, and after the game I stopped into Faccia Luna for a quick bite to eat, and the place was packed—with at least a third of the patrons wearing pink.

Tina Hay, editor

Entry filed under: Lady Lion basketball. Tags: breast cancer, Brianne O'Rourke, Bryce Jordan Center, Coquese Washington, Mashea Williams, WBCA Pink Zone.