Even under tragic circumstances, Erika Cliett didn’t really fall apart.

She and her husband, also a graduate and former standout basketball player at Kirkland’s Northwest University, had been married less than two years and were preparing to welcome a daughter when Taylor Cliett was diagnosed with an aggressive form of melanoma.

Ellie was born just months before her father died of cancer in November, rallying the NU community and touching the hearts of a fledgling Kirkland family.

The Northwest University men’s and women’s basketball teams held a fundraiser and memorial for Taylor during basketball games on Dec. 30. Scores of former teammates and friends attended, many wearing shirts with No. 3 on the back — which Erika and Taylor both wore while playing for NU.

Before the men’s game against Eastern Oregon, the packed NU Pavilion gave Erika and Ellie a standing ovation in Taylor’s memory.

That’s when Erika finally broke down.

“It was emotional,” said Erika, who is also a volunteer assistant with the women’s team. “I’ve been able to keep it together, even at the memorial and around family and friends, but that moment was different. It was such a true testament to who he was — such a positive light.”

Taylor played three seasons for Northwest, graduating in 2013 and starting at point guard his senior year. He was known to be easy-going and popular with his teammates, according to NU men’s coach John Van Dyke, who coached Taylor during his time at Northwest.

“There are three years’ worth of teammates, and only three guys are out of state and [couldn’t] be there,” Van Dyke said. “That tells you a lot. He was really tight with his team.”

The university is working to set up a tournament in Taylor’s name, and the current men’s squad will wear black mourning patches on home and away jerseys this season.

Northwest sold around 100 t-shirts at the game on Dec. 30, worth about $2,000. That money along with admission proceeds were donated to the Cliett family. Hundreds of friends, and even strangers, have donated to a GoFundMe set up in Erika’s name and to a college fund set up for Ellie.

The GoFundMe alone topped out at $58,458 before donations were closed, but the applause might have been a more fitting show of support for Erika.

“It made me feel closer to him and it was what we would have wanted him to experience,” she said. “Happiness, from where he is now, instead of sadness.”