Northern Illinois freshman Paulina Castro gathered her teammates on the women's basketball team together in the locker room during winter break.
She told the Huskies that the fears from the previous week had become a reality, and she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The Huskies came together – tears pouring onto the locker room floor as they embraced Castro with an emotional group hug – and they knew what to expect from the freshman.
She is going to fight.
"We make a conscious effort to not allow any negativity," NIU coach Lisa Carlsen said. "We don't talk about, 'What if?