Few things in this world are completely universal, something that everyone can relate to.

It is a sad truth that most everyone can connect through the fact that their lives have been touched by cancer. Although there is a definite cloud of negativity surrounding the “C” word, it has carried with it the undeniable ability to bring people together whether for fundraising or support.

Tonight, the NIU women’s basketball team will be making such a collaboration when they face off against the Toledo Rockets at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.

The Huskies will team up with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) to take part in the WBCA’s Pink Zone Initiative. The objective of the initiative is to assist raising breast cancer awareness.

Fans arriving early to tonight’s game will receive pink t-shirts, and pink stress balls will be passed out to the first 250 fans.

The Huskies also held a free-throw shooting event last Wednesday to help raise money for the Kay Yow Foundation in honor of the legendary women’s basketball coach who passed away earlier this year. Yow had been engaged in a long battle with breast cancer after being diagnosed in 1987.

Players went into the community to collect donations and pledges for every free throw they made with proceeds going to the Kay Yow Foundation. Senior guard Jessie Wilcox, who had a grandmother battle breast cancer twice, spoke about how supportive the community has been.

“This community has been great,” Wilcox said. “Especially after such tragic events last year, we really pulled together as a community. The businesses around town are more than generous to donate to a good cause.”

Head coach Carol Owens, who met Yow early in her playing career, articulated the importance of raising cancer awareness and not only what it meant to her but also to the team as a whole.

“How she fought this disease for as many years as she has and kept fighting until the end and tried to keep coaching until the end, that’s inspiration to all of us,” Owens said. “We’re just glad that we are able to do something. This is a great opportunity for us to make this event big and share awareness.”

Wilcox was quick to echo the sentiments of her coach. The Oshkosh, Wis. native feels a personal obligation to do all she can to raise awareness and contribute her efforts.

“It’s run in my family, so it’s even more important for me. Helping the cause is always an important priority of mine,” Wilcox said.

One often hears about how the coaches of a particular sport form a tight bond amongst each other, and Wilcox spoke about what Yow meant to the game of women’s basketball. She was quick to point out, however, that even though Yow was a prominent member of the basketball community, cancer awareness needs to be raised on all fronts because it affects everyone.

“We’ve all been touched,” Owens said. “Relatives, family, friends, not only [by] breast cancer but cancer alone.”

It just proves that although cancer may be a universal yet negative force in the world, some good can come out of the bad.