Young Duke fan rings bell at Cameron Indoor, signaling end of cancer treatment
The Duke Blue Devils are lucky enough to have not only one of the nation’s top basketball programs, but they’re also lucky enough to have one of the nation’s top medical facilities in Durham, North Carolina. On Wednesday evening against Notre Dame, the Blue Devils decided to honor a young girl named Harper, who had just finished her cancer treatment. She got to ring the bell during halftime, alongside Marcelle Scheyer, head coach Jon Scheyer’s wife.
Here’s some more information on Harper’s story via Rodd Baxley of the Fayetteville Observer. In 2021, Harper Harrell was diagnosed with leukemia. The 10-year-old girl took her final chemotherapy treatment on Wednesday. According to Heather, Harper’s mom, that completes 864 days of treatment. And that’s why Duke honored her at halftime.
Not only was she honored at halftime, but NFL legend Michael Strahan was even in attendance to honor Harper on Wednesday night. He was seen sitting on the baseline in the Notre Dame game. Then he got his picture taken with Harper.
The picture was posted by Dr. Ann Reed, the Chair of Pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center. The physicians of this country are truly some of the underappreciated heroes, so credit to Dr. Reed and the countless members of the Duke medical team that helped Harper Harrell through such an incredibly difficult stretch.
According to mayoclinic.com, leukemia is the cancer of the body’s blood forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system. Many different types of leukemia exist, with some forms being more common in children.
Duke cruised to an easy victory on Wednesday night
In the game, the Blue Devils were simply too much to handle for the Fighting Irish on Wednesday evening. While Notre Dame tried to battle back at one point, Duke led by double digits for much of the game, closing it out in Cameron Indoor in comfortable fashion, 71-53.
The Blue Devils had three players in double figures and surprisingly one of them was not Kyle Filipowksi. The stud sophomore did stuff the stat sheet with eight points and nine rebounds. The three players that put in double figures were Jared McCain (11 points), Mark Mitchell (13 points), and Caleb Foster (13 points).
Duke had 10 steals, while also holding Notre Dame to just 7 of 27 (25.9%) from beyond-the-arc. Freshman phenom Markus Burton led the Fighting Irish with 19 points. His speed and quickness make him one of the toughest guards in America to defend. In his first year, he’s been averaging 16.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game.
With the win, Duke improved to 17-5 overall and 8-3 in the ACC. Notre Dame dropped to 7-16 overall and 2-10 in the ACC.