For Carlie: The girls and boys basketball teams honored junior Carlie Foutch and her battle against leukemia at their games on Feb. 2

The girls and boys basketball teams honored junior Carlie Foutch, who passed away from leukemia on Jan. 28, at their games against Olathe North on Feb. 2.

While warming up, all players wore white T-shirts with “We play for” and an orange leukemia ribbon on the front. “C. Foutch” and the number 11 — Carlie’s jersey number — were printed on the back. Coaches for each team also wore the shirts and the theme for both student sections was orange out.

Before each game, paraprofessional and announcer Dan Bird spoke about Carlie:

“Ladies and Gentlemen tonight we ask you to join us in honoring Carlie Foutch. Carlie was a member of the girls basketball team this year and a student at Shawnee Mission East. On Sunday, Jan. 29, Carlie passed away at her home in the presence of her family, after a long fought battle with cancer. Carlie played and watched basketball from a very young age, her passion for the game and competitive spirit were unmatched. In her short time on the Shawnee Mission East basketball team, she made a huge impact on the players and coaches and is one of the toughest players to ever wear the East colors. Carlie will be missed by everyone who was lucky enough to know her. Please join us in a moment of silence to honor Carlie Foutch.”

All players and game attendees then bowed their heads and took a moment of silence to recognize Carlie. 

During the girls game, the team honored Carlie with senior and guard Abigail Long’s starting spot on the team. They started the game with four players instead of five and Long waited a few minutes before entering the game. Carlie was announced as “number 11, 5-foot-5 junior Carlie Foutch.”

“The position that Carlie played was shooting guard and that’s sort of what I’ve been playing and I thought it’d be best if she started in that position,” Long said.

Long and the team set up a GoFundMe to raise money for Carlie’s family. The link was sent to the Pep Club GroupMe, posted on the girls basketball Instagram account and put on flyers located around the gym and next to the ticket booth.