Good time for good cause

    Who really won on Friday night in Ashland at the Hoops for Hope basketball game?
    The WePAC Alliance and women in the community were the real winners.
    But if you looked at the scoreboard, it was the white team.
    The white team, coached by Kansas-native Kristi Leeper-Meis and San Antonio Silverstar Ruth Riley, led the entire game and won 81-89.
    The gym was packed and the crowd was covered in pink. The University of Kansas and Kansas State cheerleaders were there. The K-State band also came for support.
    But most importantly, they all had fun. Crowd, players and coaches alike. And they were all there to support the WePAC cause.
    "I think was a really awesome event," Leeper-Meis said "It's indescribable. All the people. We packed the house. Everybody smiling. Everybody had a great time. It's a wonderful cause. I hope we have been able to change a few women's lives in the process."
    Coaches only had 45 minutes of practice time
on Friday to try to build their teams. They all played so well together that it appeared they had days.
    "We did great," Leeper-Meis said. "We played really hard. My local kids, they played great. You just don't ever know when you come to these events what you are going to come up with, but they played great.
    "The deal was, shoot! They promised me they would go out and shoot, and that's what they did. The people that have done this a little longer, they distributed the basketball really, really well. They weren't selfish at all and passed it around. It
was just fun to see them all gel with 45 minutes of practice today."
    The black team, coached by Kansas-native Jackie Stiles and Cynthia Cooper, made a strong comeback after trailing 53-38 at the half, but the white team was just too much to handle.
    "We fought hard," Stiles said. "We had our franchise player out, with Shalee (Lehning, out with a shoulder separation), that hurt us. But we fought hard and came back. I thought we were going to get it at the end, but they were just too good. It was a worthy cause and so it was more important for us to have fun."
    Cooper said she agreed it was a hard-fought effort.
    "We started out a little slow," Cooper said.  "We were trying to make sure the right percentage of points, but we came out in the second half and played better defense. We wanted to be entertaining for the crowd."
    And they were.
    Cooper enjoyed teasing the referees and her players during the game. The crowed enjoyed her efforts.
    "This was a wonderful event," Cooper said. "WePAC did a tremendous job with getting everyone, the entire community involved. We just had a great time tonight. I had a blast. An absolute blast.
    The crowd was electric and had tons of energy. The players played well. And all for the fight against breast cancer. What a great cause."
    Stiles, originally from Claflin,enjoyed having the event in a small town.
    "It was incredible," Ben's (Anderson) energy and the whole committee, they put on such an amazing event. They deserve all the credit. It was a lot of fun for a good cause.
    It was a lot of fun to come back to a small town because I know, growing up in a small town, a lot of times we had to drive hours to get to stuff, so it's great that we got to bring it right here in Ashland."
    The WePAC Alliance hopes to make Hoops for Hope an annual event. Ten percent of the money raised at the event will go to the Kay Yow foundation and the remaining ninety, will go to women in the area for health care.
    It was clear every single person attending was there to support the cause.
    No matter the result at the end of the game, all the coaches were happy, and all the players were happy. They all congratulated one another and gave out many autographs.
    "It was a lot of fun," Leeper-Meis said. "I had a blast. Working with these kids was awesome, watching their smiles. Seeing this gym that I played many, many games in here, seeing it full of the pink and white, it was really great."   

Reach Susie Van Heule at (620) 408-9913 or e-mail her at susie.vanheule@dodgeglobe.com