Heroic hoops star loses battle with brain tumor

CINCINNATI — Lauren Hill spent her final year bravely getting on the court and inspiring others to live fully. She succeeded at both.

The 19-year-old freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University died at a hospital Friday morning, the co-founder of her foundation The Cure Starts Now said.

"Through Lauren's fundraising and advocacy efforts, she not only became a spotlight on the lack of funding for cancer research, but she most certainly has become a beacon guiding researchers for years to come," The Cure Starts Now co-founder Brooke Desserich said.

Hill wouldn't let an inoperable brain tumor dictate her final days. Along the way, 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 by the way she persevered.

Her nonprofit foundation that helped to raise more than $1.5 million for cancer research.

"She's made an impact on the world, more so than me — more than I ever will do," her coach Dan Benjamin said. "I've gotten so many emails and phone calls from all over the world. People are contacting me because they want to share her story."

Lauren Hill holds a sign made for her, which she keeps in her room in Cincinnati, along with many other messages and gifts of support.Photo: AP

A year and a half ago, Hill was just another high school student getting ready for college. She decided to play basketball at Division III Mount St. Joseph in suburban Cincinnati — soccer was her favorite sport, but basketball became her selling point.

A few weeks later, she started experiencing dizziness while playing for her high school team in nearby Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Tests found the tumor. Treatment didn't work. She knew she had less than two years left.

While the tumor squeezed her brain, Hill squeezed back, holding onto life as tightly as she could. Living every day as fully as she could. She became dedicated to raising money for cancer research and treatment and determined to show others what it means to treat each sunrise as a precious opportunity.

"I'm spreading awareness and also teaching people how to live in the moment because the next moment's not promised," Hill told the AP after one of her team's 6 a.m. practices. "Anything can happen at any given moment. What matters is right now.

"Especially after this kind of diagnosis, your perspective on life and what you value changes."

For Hill, that meant spending time with her parents and a brother and sister, going to college, raising money for cancer research, inspiring others, and achieving her goal of scoring a basket in a game.

A lot of people got involved and made it happen.

The NCAA agreed to let Mount St. Joseph move up its opening game against Hiram College by two weeks because 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 the game came around on Nov. 2, the tumor had affected Hill's 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, Hill took a pass and made a left-handed layup only 17 seconds into the game.

Tears. Goosebumps. Applause.

She also made the last basket of the game, returning for a right-handed layup this time.

"It's a dream come true," she said. "To play on a college court, to put my foot down on the floor and hear the roar of the crowd — I just love it so much. I love basketball.

"Everything that happened today was amazing. I'm truly happy, it's a really good day."

It got tougher. The spreading tumor caused her to be sensitive to light, sound and movement. She couldn't sleep well. She tired quickly and needed a wheelchair at times. She had good days and bad ones, good hours and lesser ones.

Everyone watched her grit it out.

Hill embraces teammates after the game.Photo: Getty Images

"Even though it's sad, her courage brings out the best in people," Mount St. Joseph President Tony Aretz said. "She's living with courage when a lot of people are afraid to live."

Hill played in four games and made five layups before the spreading tumor made her give up playing. When the season ended, her team held its annual dinner in a room at the hospital where Hill was being treated.

Still together, even as the end approached.

Hill was determined to raise money for cancer research, hoping that others might have a better chance at beating the disease in the future. Her Layup4Lauren challenge and other fundraising activities brought in donations worldwide.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association voted her the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award, which is normally awarded at the Final Four. Athletes from other colleges autographed No. 22 jerseys — her number — and sent them in support.

Hill befriended Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman Devon Still, whose 4-year-old daughter, Leah, is fighting cancer. They exchanged jerseys, and she attended a Bengals game and met Leah.

As the cancer slowed her down, her family, friends and teammates took a bigger role in promoting her fundraising campaign. And she kept reminding everyone to appreciate life.

"Life is precious," she told WKRC-TV. "Every moment you get with someone is a moment that's blessed, really blessed."

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