CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) – Lauren Hill has been memorialized with her own music and words in the basketball arena where she had one of her greatest moments.
Only this time, the crowd was celebrating not a layup, but a life. A brief life that was fully lived.
The 19-year-old college basketball player died Friday from a brain tumor that had been growing inside of her for more than a year. The Mount St. Joseph freshman devoted her final year to playing basketball, raising money for cancer research, and inspiring others.
Her casket was brought to Xavier’s Cintas Center, where she made a left-handed layup while the world watched her first game on November 2nd. It rested on the spot where she made her layup. The backboard and basket were off to the side, with the attached game clock and shot clock set to 22 — her number. Coach Dan Benjamin gently kissed her gray jersey before stretching it over the casket.
Music from her iPod was played at the start of the memorial. Hill will be buried in a private service on Wednesday.