Basketball has taken Rama N'diaye around the globe. In doing so, it has created a family that extends far beyond the traditional definition of the word.

The former Cal women's basketball player left her native Senegal at the age of 15 to continue her high school education and playing career in Japan. During that time, Rama was recruited to play basketball at the University of California, joining the Golden Bear family in the fall of 2006.

"Americans couldn't do that," said Joanne Boyle, head coach of the Cal women's basketball team from 2005-11 and the current head coach at the University of Virginia. "We couldn't leave home at such a young age -- leave our families behind --  and go overseas. But in Senegal, the mentality is always, 'how can I better my family?' And in Senegalese culture, family is all-encompassing. It's immediate family, cousins, neighbors, and friends."

For Rama, bettering her family meant moving 6,000 miles away from her hometown of Dakar and immersing herself in an entirely new culture. It required taking classes at the top public university in the country in a language that was completely foreign. And on the basketball court, it meant adjusting to the pace and physicality of play, as well as recovering from a gruesome knee injury suffered at the end of her sophomore season.

But through all the adversity early in her stay in Berkeley, Rama remained resilient, embracing the challenges in front of her and committed to seeing them through.

"That's my culture, it's just how we are," Rama said. "I'm the oldest of seven children and your younger brothers and sisters are always looking up to you. Ever since I was little, whatever I did, I had to do it well for them to follow."

In the summer of 2008, her Senegalese and Cal families came together when the Bears took an international team trip to Tunisia and Senegal, allowing Rama to return home for the first time in years. Though unable to play due to her recent knee injury, Rama served as the team's personal tour guide, exposing her teammates, coaches and staff to the amazing traditions and culture of Africa.

As a testament to her sheer will and determination, Rama return to the court after her injury. In five seasons in Berkeley, Rama and the Bears made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by a Sweet 16 appearance in 2009, and won the WNIT Championship in 2010.

After playing professional basketball for three seasons in Iran, Spain, and Turkey, Rama retired from the game in 2014 and returned to the United States, settling near friends and family in San Diego as she looked for work.

Not long thereafter, she found a lump on her breast.

"I was still playing pickup games at night," Rama said "so when I first went to the doctor, we figured I had gotten hit. The doctors thought it was just a bruise that would go away."

But it did not go away. Convinced something was wrong, Rama returned to the doctor several months later and insisted they run a full complement of tests.

"It never really went through my mind until the biopsy," Rama said. "Waiting for the results, I started googling 'breast cancer.'" 

Her fears were confirmed when in July, at the age of 29, Rama was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.

"I was so, so shocked. At first I didn't want anyone to know, not even my mom," admitted Rama.

Even at Cal, Rama had been very humble and private, reluctant to share her struggles with others or ask for help. But when she was finally ready to share the news of her diagnosis, Rama's first call was to Sarah Holsinger, former Director of Basketball Operations at Cal and the current Associate Athletics Director for Basketball Administration at the University of Virginia.

"She left me a message that said, 'Sarah, I really need you to call me back.'" Holsinger recalls. "I hadn't talked to her in months but I knew something was wrong."

After informing Holsinger of her diagnosis, Rama gave her permission to tell Boyle and then started an aggressive treatment regimen at The Moore Cancer Center at UC San Diego, which wreaked havoc on her body.

Thousands of miles away in Charlottesville, Virginia, Holsinger and Boyle quickly decided the best thing to do was ensure that Rama had resources and connections back at Cal.

"These are the rewards of playing basketball," Boyle said. "It's the benefit of having an extended family like this – it doesn't just end when you graduate."

Soon thereafter, Boyle saw Ann Caslin, an athletic trainer at Cal and the team's trainer during Rama's tenure, at an event. Boyle shared Rama's diagnosis and Caslin immediately set to work devising a way in which the Cal community could support Rama in her fight.

"Rama holds such a special place in everyone's heart," Caslin explained. "Everything has been such a challenge for her, so to be able to help, it was a no-brainer. Women's basketball is so generous and so community oriented. This is a member of our family and we take care of our family."

Caslin worked with Holsinger, Boyle, and Cal's current staff of head coach Lindsay Gottlieb and Jill Culbertson, the Director of Basketball Operations, to create the campaign, Rebounds for Rama. Named in tribute to Rama's prowess in the post, Rebounds for Rama is hosted on Pledgeit.org, and allows donations to be made based on the number of total rebounds that the current Cal team secures over the course of the season or to simply give at a flat rate.

"Coach Boyle and I began recruiting Rama when she was just 17 years old," Gottlieb said. "We made a promise that we would be a part of her life long after basketball."

To date, Rebounds for Rama has raised almost $12,000, funds that have been crucial as the side effects of treatment have made it difficult for Rama to work. But more than the financial support, the emotional and spiritual support of the Cal women's basketball community has left Rama speechless.

"I couldn't believe it," Rama said.  "I just thought, this is not possible, to have Cal and so many people support me like this. I was so nervous to [go public with my diagnosis] at first, but this is family, and you do things for family. I cannot thank them enough."

Rama underwent her final round of chemotherapy on January 3 and has a further surgery scheduled for later this month. Feeling strong and healthy, Rama is handwriting thank you notes to everyone who has donated to her cause and growing more comfortable sharing her battle with cancer, emphasizing the importance of early detection.

"I think her story is so unique in that she took such a risk getting here, literally traveling halfway across the world," Caslin said. "And you always go back and ask, 'Why did she chose Cal?' Maybe it's because she really felt she had a family here and a community that stood behind her. That's telling of this program and this university, that years later we're still taking care of our players."

This Sunday, Rama will be attendance when Cal hosts Colorado at 3 pm PT, making her first trip back to campus since 2011. She'll be joined by some of her immediate family members, including her younger brother, Karim, a sophomore center on the College of Marin men's basketball team.

But on Sunday, like all days, Rama's family will be everywhere. Sitting in the stands, watching on television, pacing the sidelines, and battling for rebounds on the court.

Rebounding for Rama.

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For more information on Rebounds for Rama, or to make a donation, please visit www.pledgeit.org/ReboundsForRama. Should you have any questions, please contact our Director of Operations, Jill Culbertson, at 510-643-3787. A silent auction will be held at Cal's Play4Kay game on Sunday against Colorado, with proceeds benefiting Rebounds for Rama and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.