Coach pays tribute to basketball player who played despite brain tumor

CINCINNATI (AP) — Her coach says college basketball player Lauren Hill made more of an impact on the world than he'll ever be able to make.

The 19-year-old freshman player at Mount St. Joseph University in Ohio died at a hospital this morning, according to the co-founder of her nonprofit foundation. Despite a brain tumor that she knew would take her life, she worked to raise money for cancer research -- and achieved her goal of scoring a basket in a college game. The NCAA had allowed her college team to move up its opening game by two weeks because her condition was deteriorating.

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.

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

Mount St. Joseph President Tony Aretz says Hill "left a powerful legacy." He says she "taught us that every day is a blessing; every moment a gift."

%@AP Links

155-a-07-(Archive sound of Lauren Hill, Mount St. Joseph's basketball player, with reporters on November 2, 2014)-"support this cause"-In an interview in November of 2014, Mount St. Joseph's basketball player Lauren Hill told reporters after her team's season opener last year she was overwhelmed that 10,000 people showed up to see her game. (10 Apr 2015)

<<CUT *155 (04/10/15)££ 00:07 "support this cause"

156-a-05-(Archive sound of Lauren Hill, Mount St. Joseph's basketball player, with reporters on November 2, 2014)-"some research going"-In an interview in November of 2014, Mount St. Joseph's basketball player Lauren Hill told reporters after her team's season opener last year that she's pleased with the awareness generated by her situation. (10 Apr 2015)

<<CUT *156 (04/10/15)££ 00:05 "some research going"

APPHOTO NY158: FILE - In this Nov. 2,k 2014, file photo, Mount St. Joseph's Lauren Hill shoots a lay up during her first NCAA college basketball game against Hiram University at Xavier University in Cincinnati. The 19-year-old freshman basketball player died at a hospital in Cincinnati Friday, April 10, 2015, the co-founder of her foundation The Cure Starts Now said. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman, File) (2 Nov 2014)

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APPHOTO NY155: FILE - In this Nov. 2, 2014, file photo, Mount St. Joseph's Lauren Hill, center, gets congratulated by teammates after scoring during her first NCAA college basketball game against Hiram University at Xavier University in Cincinnati. The 19-year-old freshman basketball player died at a hospital in Cincinnati Friday, April 10, 2015, the co-founder of her foundation The Cure Starts Now said. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman, File) (2 Nov 2014)

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