This season isn’t just about breaking records for Augustana’s women’s basketball team; it’s also about giving back to the community, particularly to those affected by cancer.
Beginning at 5 p.m. on Feb. 4 during the Vikings home game against Millikin University, the Augustana women’s basketball team will  be fundraising money for the Cancer Foundation.
This game is important and personal for the Vikings as they  hope to raise awareness about cancer by wearing purple jerseys and selling t-shirts on their website that say “Hope for the Fighters, Peace for the Survivors, and Prayers have been taken” before facing Milikin.
Recently a senior on the team lost a family member to cancer, so the players and Vikings’ head coach Mark Beinborn had the idea to not only raise awareness for cancer, but to show support for those who have been affected by cancer.
Sophomore Sadie Roberts explained some of the meaning behind the fundraiser.
“We want to spread the word and show support for all those who have been affected by cancer in anyway.” said Roberts.
The Vikings lost their last bout with Millikin, falling 76-91 on Millkin’s courts. Their overall record fell to 13-4 and their conference record to 6-2.
Motivation has not been a problem for the Vikings. Win or lose they will play their hardest freshman Mia Lambert said.
“We give it our all on the court, no matter what, but it’ll be nice playing for a cause,” said Lambert.
Lambert also remarked about the potential of the event and how the event will go.
“We think we’ll be pretty successful in this event, we’ve been raising awareness through our website and we’re all really excited for this game,” she said.
Before the game, the Vikings will play two more conference games against Carthage College and Elmhurst College.
The fundraiser will be a new tradition as the women’s basketball team would like to continue to raise money for the Cancer Foundation every year.