By: Todd Lindenmuth

FARMVILLE, Va. – When Longwood women's basketball debuts their pink jerseys Tuesday night against High Point to raise awareness for breast cancer, the game will have a greater meaning for junior point guard Micaela Ellis.
 
That's because in the midst of the 2015-16 basketball season, on what was supposed to be a routine trip to her home in Oak Park, Mich., to celebrate Christmas with her family, Ellis was sat down by her parents.
 
Her mother, Liz Ellis had discovered a spot on her body that ultimately led to a diagnosis of stage II breast cancer.
 
"I broke down, because that's just not a good thing to hear," Ellis said. "It's not something you ever want to hear."
 
An accountant whom Micaela describes as a "hard-worker and fighter," Liz was now forced to fight a disease that no one had ever had to fight before within the Ellis family.
 
"There is no one in my immediate family or even in my extended family, that's ever had cancer that I know of," Micaela said. "Especially breast cancer, I haven't heard of anything. That was why it was a shock, especially with her."
 
Liz would have to go through various treatments and radiation, before undergoing multiple surgeries to attempt to remove the cancer from her body. When those attempts failed, Liz was forced to endure rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
 
While Liz was fighting the disease in Michigan, Micaela returned to Farmville for the start of the spring semester and the remainder of basketball season where she was a team captain and played a big role as one of the top point guards in the Big South.
 
Besides telling a few people in her Longwood women's basketball family, Micaela mostly stayed to herself about the news, but checked in constantly with her family Michigan.
 
"It was a really difficult time for me, especially with me being [in Farmville]," Micaela said. "It made me think about all of the priorities in life. A lot of times, what we think about on a day-to-day basis a lot of times is not important compared to the challenges many people face. It just makes you want to think about other people and what they're going through."
 
Meanwhile, in Michigan, Liz was going through with chemotherapy treatments and had begun to lose most of her hair. With her family rallying behind her, she would take comfort in the support that was shown.
 
"My grandparents and dad were just there for her," Micaela said. "When she came out of a chemo session or surgery, her seeing them and somebody she knew would just lift her up."
 
Over the summer, Micaela returned to her home in Michigan, where she was informed in July that all of the cancer had been removed from her mother's body and Liz was now cancer-free.
 
"When I first heard she was cancer-free, I was really excited," Micaela said. "Obviously, that's what we were hoping for the entire time, but it was really exciting when she told me she was cancer-free, especially what she had to go through with the chemotherapy."
 
Now with her hair starting to grow back, Liz was able to make the trek to Farmville to attend several of Longwood's games earlier this season, watching Micaela, a second-year team captain, blossom into a team leader on and off the court and into a premier point guard within the Big South.
 
When Longwood hosts High Point in Tuesday's pink game, the game will have special meaning for Micaela and the Ellis family.
 
"It means more than just the color," Micaela said of what the pink game means for her. "A lot of people like to wear the jersey and look nice in their pink. You have to understand that there are people fighting this disease everyday and the things they're going through. Sometimes, you have to take a step back and think about other people and what they're going through."
 
#MoreThanAGame