UNCW women’s basketball program hosts inaugural Dee Dee Toons Rivers lunch fundraiser at Wilmington Convention Center

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — UNCW women’s basketball team is preparing to host its first-ever Dee Dee Toon Rivers luncheon, a fundraising event bridging sports, remembrance, and community.

The event will take place on Tuesday, October 7, from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Wilmington Convention Center.

“This event is a way for us to be able to provide resources to our players outside of their scholarship,” said women’s basketball Coach Nicole Woods. “I might be able to do some recovery methods for them when we’re on the road and we play Friday, Sunday; and be able to get them some cryotherapy, things of that nature, just to kind of really enhance the student athlete experience.”

The event honors the late Dee Dee Toon Rivers, who played for the Seahawks in the late ’90s and passed away earlier this year. Toon Rivers’ daughter, Saniya Rivers, selected 8th overall in the 2025 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Suns, will be the guest speaker

See the full interview above.