Norfolk, Va. - The Lady Spartans of Norfolk State University battled it out against Florida A&M Saturday night, but it's not the only fight the team is focused on.
Their fellow teammate Amber Brown is fighting for her life. Brown has been in the hospital since New Year's Day. Her family tells NewsChannel 3 they believe it's diabetes related.
As soon as they found out, the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee decided to take action.
At Saturday's game, students walked up and down the bleachers collecting money to help cover her medical bills.
"We want to make sure that her family knows that NSU supports them and that we're right behind them," said Melody Webb with NSU.
Earlier this week, Brown's sister, Ebony, told NewsChannel 3 the support has been overwhelming. "We're just hoping and praying for the best, and right now every second and every day counts for her," she said.
Amber Brown's teammates found her unresponsive in her dorm room on New Year's Day. She had been in a coma at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, but according to her sister, she is now out of the coma. She's not out of the woods yet, but Ebony Brown says she is making significant progress.
While they focus on Brown, her NSU family is doing what they can to support them.
"When you're on the team, you become like a family. You're with these young ladies everyday, you practice everyday, you kind of do everything together for the entire year, so at the end of the day when they lose a member of their family due to an injury or someone being hurt or in the hospital, it hurts," said Webb.
The school will continue to hold fundraisers at its home games through the month of January. The next game is Monday at 6 p.m.
