LAS VEGAS – Six teams that participated in last season’s NCAA Women’s Tournament will be among the eight-team field for the second-annual Play4Kay Showcase on Nov. 23-25, 2017 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The event supports the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, an organization that funds women’s cancer research, and will immediately follow the MGM Resorts Main Event men’s tournament earlier that week at T-Mobile Arena. The field and pairings for the tournament were released Thursday by the event’s organizer, bd Global (www.bdglobalsports.com).
“This year’s Play4Kay Showcase is the absolute best tournament in the country during the early part of the season,” said bd Global president Brooks Downing. “With top-10 caliber teams such as Stanford and Ohio State headlining this field, it will be a March preview of the teams that many expect will contend for the national championship.”
The field for the tournament features:
- Belmont – 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Champions (27-6 record)
- DePaul – 2017 Big East Champions (27-8)
- FGCU – 2017 A-Sun Champions (26-9)
- Gonzaga – 2017 West Coast Conference Champions (26-7)
- Kent State – 2017 MAC East Champions (19-13)
- Memphis – 14-16 record last season
- Ohio State – 2017 Big Ten Champions (28-7)
- Stanford – 2017 NCAA Final Four (32-6)
Debbie Antonelli, an ESPN television analyst who will serve as the Tournament Director, said, “I am proud to say that I played for Coach Yow at NC State and it is an honor to host a tournament such as this in her name. The field that we will see in Vegas is un-matched until you get to March and the play on the floor will be tremendous. Most importantly, however, the event supports a great cause that is fighting this terrible disease.”
The schedule for the opening round of the women’s tournament on Thursday, Nov. 23 is as follows:
- 12:30 p.m. PT – DePaul vs. FGCU
- 3:00 p.m. PT – Ohio State vs. Memphis
- 5:30 p.m. PT – Stanford vs. Kent State
- 8:00 p.m. PT – Gonzaga vs. Belmont
Consolation games will be played Friday, Nov. 24 at 12:30 p.m./3:00 p.m. followed by the semifinals at 5:30 p.m./8:00 p.m. Saturday’s championship game will be at 8:00 p.m. PT.
The tournament promotes the Play4Kay initiative, a grassroots fundraising campaign for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Play4Kay’s primary fundraising support comes from women’s basketball teams across the country that dedicate games throughout the season to raise funds and awareness for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The charity was founded in 2007 from the vision of the organization’s namesake Kay Yow, a former N.C. State head women’s basketball coach who endured three bouts with breast cancer. Despite the disease, she coached for 38 years, recording more than 700 wins, making 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, 11 trips to the Sweet 16 and a Final Four berth in 1998. In 1988, she coached the United States to an Olympic gold medal. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 before succumbing to the disease on January 24, 2009. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund has since raised more than $5.28 million for women’s cancer research and to assist the underserved. For her achievements on and off the court, Coach Yow is enshrined in both the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
For complete information, visit www.play4kayshootout.com or follow on Twitter at @NeonHoops.
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Ticket & Hotel Information
Tickets priced at $20 daily or $50 for all three days of tournament play (not including applicable service charges) are now on sale and are available at any MGM Resorts International ticketing outlet, online at mandalaybay.com and axs.com, or by phone at (702) 632-7580. Mandalay Bay will serve as the official host resort for the event and fans can book rooms at the tournament rate at Play4KayShootout.com.
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Campus Games
Nov. 28 – Trevecca Nazarene @ Belmont
Dec. 5 – Southeastern @ FGCU