19-year-old athlete created foundation, encouraged others
Oct, 1, 1995 - April 10, 2015
Lauren Hill spent her final year polishing a layup and inspiring others to live fully as she fought an inoperable brain tumor.
The 19-year-old freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University died Friday at a Cincinnati hospital, Brooke Desserich, the cofounder of her nonprofit foundation, told The Associated Press.
“She’s made an impact on the world … ,” her coach Dan Benjamin said. “I’ve gotten so many emails and phone calls from all over the world.”
Ms. Hill wouldn’t let the tumor dictate her final days. She became known simply as Lauren, someone who knew how to make the most of every day and who had a knack for encouraging others to do the same. Her nonprofit foundation helped to raise more than $1.5 million for cancer research.
A year and a half ago, Ms. Hill was just another high school student getting ready for college. She decided to play basketball at Mount St. Joseph, a Division III school in suburban Cincinnati. A few weeks later, she started experiencing dizziness while playing for her high school team. Tests found the tumor. Treatment didn’t work. She knew she had less than two years left.
She held onto life as tightly as she could.
“I’m spreading awareness and also teaching people how to live in the moment because the next moment’s not promised,” she told the AP.
For Ms. Hill, that meant spending time with her parents and a brother and sister, going to college, raising money for cancer research, inspiring others, and scoring a basket in a college game. A lot of people got involved to make it happen.
The NCAA agreed to let Mount St. Joseph move up its opening game against Hiram College by two weeks because Ms. Hill’s condition was deteriorating. Xavier University offered its 10,000-seat arena so more people could attend. Tickets sold out in less than an hour.
By the time of the Nov. 2 game, the tumor had affected her right side so much that she had to shoot with her non-dominant hand. With Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt and an impressive cast of WNBA players on hand, Ms. Hill took a pass and made a lefthanded layup only 17 seconds into the game. She also made the last basket of the game.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said.
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association voted her the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award, which is normally awarded at the Final Four.