UIC women's streak breaks as broken hearts continue to mend
Cute ponytail holders and sweat socks that matched them?
Who wears that to basketball camp?
That's what Lisa Ryckbosch was thinking when she first met Kathy Meyers Grabemann in the early 1980s. She didn't know what to make of this girly girl.
"I kind of grew up a tomboy and here was Kathy all matchy-match at basketball camp and I just thought, 'Who is this girl?'" Ryckbosch, now the head women's basketball coach at UIC, said with a laugh. "But through basketball we figured out that we were a lot more alike than different, and we got to be great friends."
Soon after, Ryckbosch and Meyers Grabemann became teammates at Loyola and led the Ramblers to their best season ever. In fact, this season marks the 25th anniversary of the 1984 North Star Conference championship the girls won together.
Eventually, Ryckbosch and Meyers Grabemann also shared in each other's joy of becoming new moms.
But less than two years after Meyers Grabemann gave birth to her daughter Kaily, she was dead. She had contracted leukemia in 1995 and died about a year later from an infection related to a bone marrow transplant she received.
Meyers Grabemann was just 33 years old.
Ryckbosch, Kaily's godmother, has had a heavy heart ever since and has been active in trying to raise money in her good friend's name.
Shortly before Meyers Grabemann's death, Ryckbosch helped organize an event that raised $40,000 for the Leukemia Research Foundation. She also did a bone marrow drive at an NCAA Women's Final Four that put 300 college coaches on the national registry.
On Thursday, Ryckbosch was at it again. Her UIC Flames, who are 5-1 and off to one of their best starts in school history, took on Cal Poly, who is coached by former Elk Grove star Faith Mimnaugh. Since Mimnaugh was also on that 1984 North Star Conference championship team at Loyola, Ryckbosch thought it would be a fitting tribute for all the proceeds from their game to be donated to the Leukemia Research Foundation chapter that was created on Meyers Grabemann's behalf: "Somebody's Hero."
"When we raised all that money for Kathy before she died, we did it in like six weeks and she was just so touched by the outpouring of support that she received. I mean, people were coming out of the woodwork," Ryckbosch said. "She was just so appreciative of that, and then you juxtapose that against people who were in the same situation as her and had no support. Kathy's thing was, 'Once I get healthy, I want to help those people. I want to be a hero for someone who doesn't already have someone. So she came up with the name 'Somebody's Hero.'
"That's how she was. Just thinking about others and always staying positive. She was convinced she was going to beat it. It's exactly what you try to teach your team about dealing with adversity and keeping a positive attitude when things get tough."
UIC had it tough against Cal Poly. The Flames lost Thursday's game 72-60. Had they won, they would have earned the team's best start in history at 6-0.
"You know, you're going up against a good friend (in Mimnaugh)," Ryckbosch said. "But we were friends before and we'll be friends after.
"We're just so thrilled to have been able to do something like this for Kathy."
Ryckbosch said that for $20, fans got a pregame chalk talk from both her and Mimnaugh, a Connie's Pizza dinner and a ticket to the game. Since Connie's donated the meal and UIC threw in the tickets, all proceeds from the game will be sent directly to Somebody's Hero.
"With Faith coming back, I thought it would be a great excuse to get some of our old (Loyola) teammates back together and remember Kathy and raise some money and do something positive."
How to give: To contribute to "Somebody's Hero," Kathy Meyers Grabemann's chapter of the Leukemia Research Foundation, send a check made out to the Foundation or to "Somebody's Hero" to the UIC Women's Basketball Office, 839 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL 60608.
pbabcock@dailyherald.com 144195Faith Mimnaugh