Women's Basketball Holds Victor Day Sunday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis women's basketball team will hold Victor Day this upcoming Sunday, December 4. The Tigers are partnering with West Cancer Center to hold a day to celebrate cancer survivors as well as those fighting cancer in the Memphis community.

"We're happy for West Cancer Center to partner with us for this game to recognize cancer survivors," said head coach Melissa McFerrin. "It was a great experience for our players this week to be at West Cancer Center to be able to shine a little bit of light in their worlds."

The concept behind Victor Day is to celebrate those who are in remission and give those still going through treatment a chance to take a break by spending time away from the confinements of treatment to enjoy a college women's basketball game. Before returning to Memphis this season, associate head coach Danielle O'Banion spearheaded Victor Day at Kent State.

Upon arriving to Kent State in 2012, O'Banion was contacted by Bonnie Beachy, the all-time leading scorer in Kent State basketball history. Beachy reached out to O'Banion asking if she could come back and speak with the team during her fight with ovarian cancer. When meeting with the team, she made a statement that struck a chord with the players and coaches in that locker room.

"One of the things that she said that was really striking to all of us was that she was a VICTOR, not a VICTIM," said O'Banion. "Through the years now, we have become pretty close."

That relationship continued to grow when O'Banion was diagnosed with Stage 2 lymphoma cancer in the fall of 2014. She is currently in her second season of being in remission.

During her treatment, O'Banion was contacted by a mother whose 23-year-old pregnant daughter was also diagnosed with the same cancer as O'Banion. In her email, the mother was asking O'Banion if it was okay to keep her in the loop of how her daughter was doing and how they did not have anyone else to talk to. This, combined with a challenge made by O'Banion's mentor and cancer survivor, Judy Devine, was the turning point for O'Banion in getting Victor Day established. Devine served as the senior woman administrator at Kent State while O'Banion was the head coach.

"One of the scary things is that they didn't have the same support network," said O'Banion. "We decided that we were going to just do it, pay it forward, have this Victor Day concept. I was telling Judy that I was blown away by the number of people that had reached out to our program and myself after being diagnosed. It was humbling and a little bit overwhelming because it was awesome. At that time, however, I learned that there were people that didn't have that same type of support network."

Victor Day presented by West Cancer Center will take place Sunday, Dec. 4, as the Tigers take on Little Rock at 2 p.m. Prior to tip-off, Memphis will present West Cancer Center with a game ball and at halftime, the Tigers will recognize all cancer survivors on the court for a special recognition. Join us as we celebrate cancer survivors and those fighting cancer in our community. Two dollar tickets are available using the promo code VICTORDAY at www.gotigersgotix.com.

University of Memphis Athletics

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