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Thornton basketball players shoot 'hoops for hope'

Girl basketball players at Thornton Academy held a Hoops For Hope event for the fourth year to raise money for those affected by cancer.

SACO, Maine (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- A basketball game at Thornton Academy was about much more than just offense and defense. Hoops For Hope raised money to help fight cancer.

This is the fourth year that girls in 7-12 grade who play basketball at Thornton went out into their community to collect donations.They raised around $20,000 to be sent to New England Cancer Specialists to be used for such things as gas cards, utility bills and other expenses cancer patients might have.

The girls varisty basketball team at Thornton Academy played Gorham High School during Hoops For Hope.

Coach Eric Marston's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer during the 2014 basketball season. She's now considered cancer free, but the impact cancer has is not lost on his family. It's why he encourages his players to work on their game and their philanthropy.

"My family was in a situation where we were very thankful for the generosity of other people and we wanted to find a way to pay it forward and Hoops For Hope has been a way that we've done that," said Marston.

The fundraiser is now called Hoops For Hope, but when it got it's start it was called Hoops For Hayley. Haley Desjardins was in middle school when she was first diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. A cancer that caused her body not to produce enough red blood cells. She's now three years post bone marrow transplant, much healthier and managing the team that's still fighting the good fight.

"For it to turn into something this big I'm very happy about because it just shows how one town can come together and work together as a community and raise money for such a good cause," said Desjardins.

Hannah Cook raised around $1,700 to go towards Hoops For Hope.

Hannah Cook raised the most money during Hoops For Hope. The seventh grader collected around $1,700 from donors in the Saco area.

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