BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT IN MEMORY OF KELLY DUNHAM

BELIEVE HOOPS GOES MARCH 25 AND 26 AT MCMASTER UNIVERSITY AND MOHAWK COLLEGE

Some of the top young female basketball players in the province will be hitting the court at McMaster University and Mohawk College in memory of Hamilton basketball player, coach and enthusiast Kelly Dunham.

"Basketball was her passion," said Doug Dunham, Kelly's husband, who is organizing Believe Hoops, a tournament for under-14 girls' basketballers that goes March 25 at Mac and March 26 at Mohawk.

Proceeds from the tournament fees will go to the Kelly Dunham Memorial Foundation that Kelly's family set up following her death in May 2020.

McMaster and Mohawk have a scholarship in her name and she is a member of the Mohawk College Mountaineers Hall-ofFame.

Kelly was well-known in local basketball circles having played at Mohawk and coached women's basketball at Mohawk and McMaster.

Doug said the tournament is being organized "to keep Kelly's name alive, she was awesome."

Admission to the games is free but Doug noted they

will be taking donations at the door.

Eight teams from across Ontario will be taking part.

The Hamilton Transway

Basketball Club girls U14 squad is the host team for the tournament.

Transway head coach Amos Connolly, who coached with Kelly about 20 years ago at McMaster, said they jumped at the chance to take part in the inaugural event.

"It's a big thing for us and it's much bigger than basketball," Connolly said. "It speaks to the power of connection and how we've done a really good job in this town of fostering and building female basketball players and female basketball teams."

Connolly recalled Kelly as a "super enthusiastic, larger than life" person on and off the court.

"I think it's a great way to pay homage to an amazing person, coach, player and basketball enthusiast," said Jenn McNaughton who played for Kelly at Mohawk in the mid-90s and coached with her at Mohawk and at Basketball Ontario after that.

"I learned a ton of things from her, she made me a better coach, she made me a better player, she made me a better referee, she knew the game of basketball inside out like no one else," McNaughton said. "To have the top eight teams in the province here is pretty spectacular and I think she'd be really proud to see people coming together for a great cause and to watch great basketball."

See kellydunhamfoundtion.ca for more information about the tournament (click on the attend an event link) and the nonprofit organization.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Hamilton Community News wanted to find out more about the inaugural Believe Hoops U14 girls basketball tournament in support of the Kelly Dunham Memorial Foundation.