On Feb. 13, No. 8 Kentucky women’s basketball suffered its most brutal loss of the season, falling to No. 3 Texas, ending its undefeated home winning streak.

 However, for Head Coach Kenny Brooks, the final score was the least important thing that happened inside Historic Memorial Coliseum that night.

Dressed in pink for their annual Play4Kay game, the Wildcats weren’t just playing for a win or championship seedings. They were playing for something bigger — the fight against cancer affecting women nationwide. 

But for Brooks, the initiative wasn’t just a cause to support; it was personal. His wife, Chrissy Brooks, had been diagnosed with breast cancer, a battle their family had endured throughout the past year. 

With that in mind, on Thursday night, in front of a nearly sold-out crowd, the Brooks couple and two of their daughters, Gabby Brooks as a player and Kendyl Brooks as operations coordinator on UK’s staff, shared the news: Chrissy was cancer-free.

“It really puts it into perspective. This last year has been the hardest year of my life, and to watch my wife walk out there, and when they said she rang that bell on May 24… It really puts things into perspective,” Brooks explained. “She is the strongest person I know and knows that we did not get to this point by ourselves.” 

Following the game, Brooks took extra time shaking hands with Texas Head Coach Vic Schaefer. The two coaches shared a private moment that, for Schaefer, hit close to home.

“My message to him was the best thing of the night was hearing that his wife was cancer-free,” Schaefer said before reflecting on his own experience of nearly losing a son.

“I have twins, obviously one, Coach Schaefer Jr. (Blair Schaefer), is on the bench, but her twin brother, almost lost him when he was 14. He’s my miracle,” Schaefer said, telling the story of his son’s horrific accident. 

He shared how, when he is overwhelmed, his son’s survival is his reminder of the important things in life and helps to keep him grounded, a message he passed on to Brooks.

“That’s what I shared with him, is that, man, when you need to be grounded, you take a look at your beautiful bride, you make that phone call, you listen to her voice and it really brings things to perspective,” Schaefer said.

When Brooks entered the press conference, he was asked about Schaefer’s words. Emotion filled the room, and tears filled his eyes.

Sitting next to him was Georgia Amoore, Kentucky’s star point guard, who put an arm around her coach in comfort — returning the support he had given her as a player over the past four years.

He confided that when his family had initially found out about Chrissy’s cancer, they had kept to themselves throughout last year’s basketball season, and the silence became overwhelming. 

“When we told people, it was the biggest weight lifted off my shoulders because so many people helped us, and they prayed for us and helped us get through it,” he explained. 

Though the Wildcats walked away with a loss on the court, Brooks walked away with something greater — a reminder that the important things in life took place off the court. 

“That is what Vic (Schaefer) and I talked about, because he has a son who he almost lost, and nights like tonight really puts things into perspective that you cannot do things by yourself and you have so many great people that are helping you,” he said.

When Chrissy’s diagnosis was announced to the public last year, it came around the same time that Brooks was becoming Kentucky’s top-choice as head coach of women’s basketball back in April, and when he arrived in Lexington, he was greeted with love and support for his wife.

For Brooks, the night wasn’t about basketball. It was about love, family and the overwhelming support of Big Blue Nation, concluding the emotional speech with gratitude for Kentucky fans.

“The University of Kentucky has been great to me,” he said. “I love when people come up to me before they even ask me anything about basketball; they will ask me how my wife is doing, and that means everything because family is first.”

In a game measured by wins and losses, Thursday night was proof that some victories are far bigger than the game itself.