Bishop’s women’s basketball to shoot for the cure

The Bishop’s University women’s basketball team will be hosting its 12th edition of Shoot for the Cure on Saturday Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. as they face Université de Laval in Lennoxville. Shoot for the Cure is a U Sports initiative that raises funds for breast cancer research through the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and other related local charities. The project was originally proposed by Rod Gilpin, former women’s coach and current head coach for the men’s team at Bishop’s.

Every year, the Gaiters will wear their pink uniforms for the game and play with a pink ball, to raise awareness about breast cancer. “The women’s team will then canvas the crowd for donations during the first quarter of the men’s game,” which starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday, explained Bishop’s University’s sports information and sponsorship coordinator Martin Rourke. There will also be donation boxes at the door of Mitchell Gym.

A staggering success since its launch in fall 2007, Shoot for the Cure has accumulated over $1.25 million in donations to this day. Since 2011, all 47 U Sports women’s basketball teams have participated every year.

“It is always refreshing to see young adults support the breast cancer cause. Funds raised through Shoot for the Cure fund groundbreaking breast cancer research in areas of risk reduction, screening, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment,” mentioned Jaime Legere, Atlantic director of development for the Canadian Cancer Society in the U Sports press release.

A cheque with the total funds raised for the 2018-19 season will be presented to CCS during the gold medal game of the 2019 U Sports Women’s Basketball Final 8, hosted by Ryerson University in Toronto.

The Gaiters will have to be fierce against their opponents for weekend, the Rouge et Or, number one team in the country. Undefeated 11-0 in the RSEQ and 22-0 in U Sports, they outscored the other teams by 249 points in the standings.