Lee Academy Girls Wear Pink To Raise Awareness About Breast Cancer
By Heather Seavey
BANGOR (NEWS CENTER)--It's day four of the Eastern Maine High School Basketball Tournament here in Bangor, class "C" teams taking center court today vying for a championship and in some cases helping to spread awareness of a deadly disease.
Earlier today the number two seed in the girls division came out on to the floor for warm-ups, clad in their brand new shooting shirts. While the Lee Academy Pandas had their sights set on beating Narraguagas, they were also showing their support for women who are in a battle for their lives.
The new warm-up uniforms are black with a pink basketball and more importantly a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon. Senior Amanda Gifford came up with the idea two years ago Gifford's grandmother passed away after a lengthy fight with breast cancer. Gifford and her teammates say despite her illness, her grandmother was always in the stands ready to cheer on the Panda's. February is breast cancer awareness month and Gifford says she got the idea, from watching college basketball teams who have also joined the fight against cancer.
Amanda says "They wore all pink uniforms, of course we couldn't do that, but we wanted to make this year more meaningful, not just about basketball. We want to send the message, we're not just basketball players or athletes, we are in touch with things going on in the world."
Gifford and her teammates say they plan to wear the shirts as long as their tournament run continues.
NEWS CENTER