By: Brian Howard, Sports Information Director
BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico | Every now and then it's good to remind fans: College athletes do more than perform on the court and inside the classroom. Members of the Grambling State University women's basketball team visited patients at Puerto Rico Children's Hospital on Tuesday morning in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Patients, especially young ones, enjoyed the camaraderie. And the players gain lessons in perspective, volunteerism and the value of their platform to make a difference.
"I'm delighted that our team has this opportunity to, in some small way, brighten the day of these patients at the Puerto Rico Children's Hospital," Lady Tigers head coach
Freddie Murray said. "There is nothing more important than taking the time to share a smile with somebody and making a positive impact on their life. Our players know how fortunate they are, and they are great ambassadors for Grambling State University."
Members of the Grambling State women's basketball team, who did the hospital tour for the first time in Murray's three years, handed off gifts and enjoyed spending time with the young children.
"This makes me so sad,"
Shakyla Hill, who was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Tuesday, said. "It's emotional on so many levels. To walk in the room and see how sick these kids were broke my heart. I am just glad my teammates and I were able to take some time away from the basketball court to put a smile on their faces."
Grambling State opens play in the Puerto Rico Classic with a 12:30 p.m. (central) game against South Dakota. The Lady Tigers will meet Indiana on Thursday and Loyola Marymount on Friday. All games will be played at Mario Morales Coliseum and will be streamed at:
https://www.facebook.com/disfrutatueventopr/
Follow Grambling State Athletics
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /gramblingstateathletics (Facebook), @gramblingathletics01 (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.
