Elliot Portillo/Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics

The Cal Poly women’s basketball team returns to Lumberjack Arena for the next four games, including key matchups against Cal State East Bay on Thursday and the No. 5 team in the nation, Cal State Dominguez Hills, on Saturday.

Both of this week’s games are set for 5:30 p.m. and each will recognize worthy causes.

Thursday’s game will be “Pediatric Cancer Night” in conjunction with Go 4 The Goal, an organization that supports children battling pediatric cancer, while Saturday’s gamer will be “Blackout Night” in celebration of Black History Month.

And the players are asking for community support.

“Thursday night is called Go 4 The Goal,” head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson said. “It’s for pediatric cancer children who have either survived or are going through cancer. You will notice that our girls will be wearing yellow shoe laces and we ask all of our fans to wear yellow that night.”

Saturday’s game, meanwhile, will be a celebration of Black History Month and fans are encouraged to wear black and pack the gym as the teams honor and celebrate those in the African-American community. 

“It’s Blackout Night, asking all our fans to wear black and really to celebrate and honor all of those in the African-American community who have been such leaders for us and the country here on campus,” the coach added. “We’re going to be acknowledging some faculty and staff. So really two very important nights for us this week as we honor a lot of folks.”

With just six games remaining in the regular season, the Cal Poly women remain in the hunt for a postseason berth.

The Jacks have won three of their last four games and are now 7-9 in conference and 9-11 overall.

They are tied with Cal State East Bay for seventh in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings, which makes Thursday’s game all the more important.

Both teams are two games out of sixth, with the top six teams qualifying for next month’s CCAA Tournament.

And getting to play four of their final six games at home is something the Lumberjacks are hoping to take advantage of.

“We’re back in Lumberjack Arena for these next four games and obviously that’s a huge plus for us,” the head coach said. “We need to take advantage of that. Here we are with six games left, but we’ve got to take care of business at home.”

The Cal Poly men’s team will also play Cal State East Bay on Thursday and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday, with their games tipping off at 7:30 p.m. on both nights.

The Humboldt men are 9-7 in conference and tied for third and 11-11 overall.

The Cal Poly men will also be celebrating Black History Month on Saturday.