Lauren Hill (basketball)

Lauren Hill
Personal information
Born October 1, 1995
Greendale, Indiana
Died April 10, 2015 (aged 19)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Nationality American
Listed height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Career information
High school Lawrenceburg (Lawrenceburg, Indiana)
College Mount St. Joseph (2014)
Position Forward
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-HCAC (2015)
  • Pat Summitt Courage Award
  • Honorary Doctorate Degree for Humane Letters

Lauren Hill (October 1, 1995 – April 10, 2015) was an American freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University (NCAA Division III) in Cincinnati, Ohio, who was suffering from terminal brain cancer. She was runner up for 2014 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, coming second in voting to Mo'ne Davis.[1]

Biography

Born in Greendale, Indiana,[2] Hill's battle with cancer became public when the NCAA agreed to allow Mount St. Joseph to play Hiram College two weeks prior to the original game date so Hill could play.[3] The location of the game was also originally moved from Hiram's Price Gymnasium to Mount St. Joseph's Harrington Center so that Hill would not have to travel the over 300 miles from Cincinnati to Hiram. However due to public interest in the game, it was later moved from the 2,000 seat Harrington Center to the 10,250 seat Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier University. [4] She raised US$1 million for pediatric cancer research with a Cincinnati telethon for The Cure Starts Now Foundation.[5] The Foundation has raised US$1.1 million thus far.[6][7]

Wheaties has honored Hill with her picture on its cereal box.[8]

Hill's family signed her up for hospice care on December 1, 2014.[9]

After Hill played in four games and made five layups,[10] Mount St. Joseph basketball coach Dan Benjamin announced that she would not play in future games but would like to stay on as an honorary coach.[11]

On January 7, 2015, Hill served as Assistant Coach for Mount St. Joseph University women's basketball team.[12]

On February 6, 2015, Hill was given an honorary doctorate degree for humane letters by Mount St. Joseph University.[13]

On March 4, 2015, she was named to the all-conference first team in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. "This award is being presented to Lauren in recognition of her courage and outstanding leadership," said conference commissioner Chris Ragsdale.[10]

On April 5, 2015, she was given the Pat Summitt Courage Award.[14] She died on April 10, 2015 at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.[15][16] A public visitation and memorial service was held on April 13, 2015 at the Cintas Center with a private funeral and burial scheduled for April 15, 2015. [17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lauren Hill runner-up for Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year".
  2. ↑ "Lauren Hill". Hollywood Life. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  3. ↑ "An Unforgettable Sunday Afternoon For Lauren Hill". espnW. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  4. ↑ Hill fulfills dream, nets 4 points
  5. ↑ "Cancer-stricken hero Lauren Hill raises $1 million". NY Daily News. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Lauren Hill Basketball: Terminally Ill College Basketball Player Reaches Her $1 Million Goal For Brain Cancer Research [VIDEO] : NCAABB". Sports World News. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  7. ↑ Press, Associated (December 31, 2014). "Terminally Ill Basketball Player Lauren Hill Raises $1 Million - Cancer, Real People Stories". People.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Wheaties honors cancer-stricken basketball freshman Lauren Hill". NY Daily News. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  9. ↑ Keith BieryGolick, The Cincinnati Enquirer (December 3, 2014). "Lauren Hill's family signs her up for hospice care". Usatoday.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Lauren Hill recognized by conference". ESPN.com. March 4, 2015. Archived from the original on March 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ Greg Noble. "Lauren Hill: Basketball hero with brain cancer will become honorary coach for Mount St. Joseph". WCPO. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Lauren Hill serves as assistant coach for MSJ basketball game - Local 12 WKRC-TV Cincinnati - Top Stories". Local12.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Lauren Hill awarded honorary doctorate from Mount Saint Joseph University". Wcpo.com. February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Lauren Hill honored with Pat Summitt award". Mobile.philly.com. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  15. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/sports/ncaabasketball/lauren-hill-who-fought-tumor-to-play-college-basketball-dies-at-19.html?ref=obituaries
  16. ↑ Sinclair Broadcast Group. "Lauren Hill (1995-2015) - Top Stories - wkrc". Lauren Hill (1995-2015) - Top Stories - wkrc.
  17. ↑ Thousands participate in Lauren Hill memorial