NATCHITOCHES – Saturday's penultimate home game for Northwestern State is all about recognition and honor.
 
Yes, a wildly important game will be played between the Lady Demons (10-14, 6-8) and the visiting New Orleans Privateers (6-17, 5-9) as both teams battle for a spot in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament, with tipoff is set for 1 p.m. from Prather Coliseum and available for viewing on ESPN3.
 
Even with such a critical game on the floor, the reminder that it is still just a game comes from the real-life impact that cancer has on people across the world. That is why Saturday will serve as NSU basketball's annual Fork Cancer came as they raise awareness and money for those battling everyday.
 
"We're partnering with NRMC (Natchitoches Regional Medical Center) this year which is a great because of how much they do for us here in the athletic department," Nimz said. "We're connecting with them still with the opportunity to do something for childhood cancer like we did last year with St. Jude. 
 
"Every single person had been affected by cancer in some way so it's our opportunity to bring some more awareness, raise some money for the people in our community and honor those who are fighting or who have fought cancer."
 
A year ago, the Lady Demons raised more than $2,500 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital with Nimz' sister-in-law who overcame stage four skin cancer, serving as one of the major inspirations for the third-year head coach.
 
All money raised in this year's game as well as the men's game will go to help cancer patients in the Natchitoches area with the partnership with NRMC.
 
NSU will honor those that have fought the battle with cancer and the recognition side of Saturday's game will come for a pair of seniors who will play one of their final two home games at Prather Coliseum.
 
Although neither Candice Parramore nor Kelsey Thaxton played their entire careers for the Demons, their impact, whether in one year or two has been sizeable and they will be recognized for their tremendous basketball careers that come to an end while in an NSU jersey.
 
"It's going to be bittersweet," Nimz said. "Wish we could have had both of them in our program for four years because they're both tremendous human beings. It's been an honor to coach both of them and they will definitely be missed but looking forward to recognizing them and showing some appreciation to a couple of people that have definitely impacted our program."
 
Both players are members of the 1,000-point club in their collegiate careers. Thaxton scored over 1,500 points in her four seasons at LSU-Alexandria and holds countless game, single-season and career records for the Generals.
 
Parramore joined the 1K club earlier this year in her second season at NSU after earning the third Southland Newcomer of the Year award for the Demons in her first season a year ago. She has been one of the most consistent scorers for NSU averaging 13.3 points per game and currently ranks fourth in Southland games in scoring this season at 15.5 per game.
 
"Candice has had a really good two-year career here and brought a lot of fight to the program and continued to help elevate it," Nimz said. "Kelsey is one of those players that does it all right and works her tail off.  I know her minutes have been different than what they were at LSUA but I think she faces every single day with a can-do attitude. They've both been a blessing to be around and to coach."
 
Senior presentations will take place prior to tipoff and fans will have the opportunity to donate to the Fork Cancer initiative throughout both games of the doubleheader.
 
Even as NSU enters the contest in a four-way tie for the final four spots in the tournament with the Privateers currently on the outside looking in hoping to earn their way into the final bracket, there is still the easy reminder that basketball is still just a game when it comes to the bigger picture.
 
"It's going to be a really big day all around Saturday," Nimz said. "From the game itself to honoring our seniors and raising some funds for cancer research. Of course, we have some come out and take care of our business and fight, but at the end of the day there are things that are bigger than basketball and Fork Cancer is one of them."