Though most of the crowd had made its way home, a handful of people lingered in the lobby, carrying on several separate conversations as the last few players filtered out of the locker rooms.

Amidst the chatter, a silent gesture rose above it all.

Susan Williams pulled daughter Blair close, kissed her on the cheek then swallowed her in a hug — a mother bursting with pride for her daughter; a breast cancer survivor grateful for one more person ready to fight to find a cure; a mother and breast cancer survivor grateful to be witness to her daughter’s special night.

“I was really proud of her, especially from the standpoint that I just had my one-year anniversary of being cancer free this past November,” Susan Williams said. “She was incredibly supportive through all that. I’m just really proud she decided to pick something that was really close to home and meant something to all of us.”

Friday’s game was more than just a showdown of two teams fighting for first place in the Tri-Eight Conference.

Blair Williams, a freshman at Athens Drive and a member of the girls’ varsity basketball team, staged Hoops For Hope for the game against Apex. The event, which will serve as her graduation project and be held the next three years when Apex visits Athens Drive, raised more than $1,500 through the sale of pink Hoops for Hope T-shirts, pink gel bracelets and a silent auction. All of the money will go to the WBCA/Kay Yow Cancer fund.

“I chose breast cancer because my mom had it, and my grandma had it, and Kay Yow is an inspiration to me,” Blair said. “So we decided to take off of the State women’s idea of doing the game.”

Hoops for Hope was started by N.C. State University in 2006. It was founded as a way for the women’s basketball team to honor breast cancer survivors and to raise money for breast cancer research. The cause took on even greater significance that year when N.C. State coach Kay Yow’s cancer, which she was first diagnosed with in 1987, returned.

Yow’s battle has been well publicized, and her public fight is an inspiration to anyone, particularly those who have been affected by breast cancer themselves.

The reality of breast cancer hit Blair Williams in the fall of 2006, not long after she entered the eighth grade.

In October of that year, Susan Williams went in for a mammogram.

She knew she was susceptible to breast cancer. Her mother had been diagnosed 16 years earlier. She beat it, too.

The mammogram revealed something was not right. So she had an ultrasound and a biopsy, though the prospect of undergoing them was not terribly unnerving. Susan had a biopsy five years earlier, and it was negative.

But when the tests came back this time, three small tumors were detected.

Without a doubt, Susan decided, she was going to have a bilateral mastectomy.

Susan and husband Phil sat down with the kids — Blair, twin brother Chris and older brother Vance — and told them the news.

Each reacted in his or her own way.

Chris asked, “Can you die?”

Blair was quiet and didn’t say much.

Soon, her actions spoke volumes.

Susan noticed Blair’s shoes had pink shoelaces in them. Her notebooks were covered with pink ribbons. And she was clipping articles related to breast cancer.

“Knowing my mom went through it, it got me into the topic and it got me inspired,” Blair said.

Beginning with the Class of 2010, all Wake County public school students must complete a graduation project in order to complete their secondary education.

According to WCPSS, The North Carolina Graduation Project allows students to demonstrate their ability to design and participate in a multiphased, research-based learning process while preparing for a future in higher education, vocational institutions or the work force. The project contains a research paper, portfolio and an oral presentation.

“I was just thinking of ways I could do it so it’d be easier for me, instead of just picking a random topic and try and do a huge project on it,” Blair said. “I just tried to think of something that was related to me and my family.”

Friday’s turnout was strong.

People milled about the table set up in the lobby all evening.

Pink T-shirts dotted the gymnasium’s bleachers, as did women wearing pink carnations, a symbol of their victory over breast cancer.

“It’s a great cause,” said Cary resident Joy Currens, who beat cancer 12 years ago and came to the game with her daughter, three friends and their daughters. “It’s a great opportunity for women to get together and celebrate women. It’s a good opportunity for us to come as mothers and daughters. We don’t do that a whole lot when they get to be in high school.”

Apex also appreciated their inclusion in the night. The two teams have battled back and forth for conference supremacy since they became conference foes in 2005. And players from both schools have attended summer camps at N.C. State for years.

“I thought it was great they thought of us,” said Apex coach Scott Campbell. “Coach Yow is one of my idols. They all know the players, and there’s friendships there, so I thought it was a great environment.”

As the last few folks milled about the lobby, Phil Williams mentioned they were already talking about ways to make the event even better next year. Blair said one of her goals is to see the project spread to other area schools.

“I just hope that the games will be a big turnout over the years and grow a lot so we can make a big impact,” Blair said.

The embrace with her mother demonstrated she’s off to a good start.