VICTORIA – Raising a whopping $18, 059, the University of Victoria basketball teams continue their streak as top supporters of the annual Shoot for the Cure—a national U SPORTS initiative supporting the Canadian Cancer Society.
From January 3 -14th, women's basketball team players shot 100 free throws each while seeking
pledges for made baskets. Surpassing their original goal of $2500, the team brought in $3,829 through online pledges to be later matched anonymously.
All those free throws paid off, with Vikes fifth-year player
Ashlyn Day going 10 for 10 from the free throw line and finishing the game with a regular season-high of 35 points. Those points heavily contributed to the
Stats for the Cure portion of the evening, where each made free throw, three-point shot and rebound added an additional $100 to the fundraising total bringing the grand total to $11, 959 on the women's side.
Vikes women's basketball player
Meike Boerstra, a second-year forward from Calgary, Alta. personally brought in $2,050 through online pledges, the most money raised by a single student-athlete.
On the men's side, local corporate sponsor Heart Pharmacy came through with a generous $5000 donation towards the $6,100 raised through Stats for the Cure. In the season's highest-scoring game, the men raked in 129 points versus the UNBC Timberwolves. Diego Maffia led the stats column with six three-pointers, four free throws and three rebounds while getting help from teammate Dominick Oliveri pulling down nine rebounds in just 24 minutes.
The men's basketball team with the Stats for the Cure proceeds
The Shoot for the Cure event continues to be an important initiative for the Vikes basketball programs, which have been avid supporters since its launch in 2007. The U SPORTS campaign has proven an overwhelming success with over $1.59 million in donations to date by all 48 U SPORTS women's basketball programs.
ABOUT SHOOT FOR THE CURE
Shoot for the Cure is the U SPORTS Women's Basketball breast cancer fundraising initiative created in 2007 to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) – and other related local and provincial charities.
The fundraising initiative was founded by Rod Gilpin - the long-time bench boss of the Bishop's women's (1993-2008) and men's (2008-Present) programs - and is currently managed nationally by UNB women's basketball head coach Jeff Speedy.
UP NEXT
The Vikes head to Kamloops, B.C. to take on Thompson Rivers University, Jan. 27-28.
