Rams, Storm girls basketball unite in pink

RIO RANCHO — “I believe in pink,” starlit Audrey Hepburn once quipped. “I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.”

When the Rams and the Storm girls basketball teams take the court on Feb. 5 at RRHS, and again when they collide in the rematch on Feb. 20 at CHS, they’ll been channeling the legendary Hollywood icon as they take the floor clad in pink.

That blast of pink flooding into the gym is a sign of unity and fight. Though rivals, the teams are united. Though competitors on the court, they are comrades off it. They wear pink, together, and enter the court, together. Their causes are different, but they are here to support each other.

This is the Pink Out game.

Once a color indicating softness and calm, today pink is just as often associated with “fighting the good fight”, specifically against breast cancer. The two Rio Rancho schools channel that spirit into causes close to their own hearts.

This year, the Rams wear pink and play for the Children’s Cancer Fund of NM in honor of Arianna Bustillos, a senior member of the basketball team and Thyroid Cancer survivor.

The Cleveland Storm play for the UNM Children’s Hospital.

Both teams will also be fundraising at their home games for their respective organizations.

The Rams girls are currently 11-7 and will face Cibola and Piedra Vista before their first Pink Out game.

The Storm girls are 10-8 and will face Piedra Vista and Volcano Vista before heading to RRHS in their pink armor.

The first Pink Out game is Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. at the RRHS gymnasium. For more information on the organizations being played for, or for more information on how to help, visit ccfnm.org and/or unmhealth.org.