Lauren Hill honored with Pat Summitt award
The Mount St. Josephs player, battling pediatric brain cancer, is recognized for her courage.
TAMPA, Fla.
- Lauren Hill is still touching people months after her ongoing battle with pediatric brain cancer came to light nationally.
Hill has raised more than $2 million for her cause and was honored by the United States Basketball Writers Association yesterday at the women's Final Four with the Pat Summitt Courage Award.
Dan Benjamin, her coach at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, talked about how Hill, who is hospitalized, is still fighting the good fight.
"I couldn't be more proud of Lauren," he said. "To be here in Lauren's honor, I'd much rather she be here than me. Here's a 19-year-old girl teaching me about life."
Summitt's teams at Tennessee won eight women's national championships. She stepped down as head coach in April 2012 after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Summitt attended Hill's first game at Mount St. Joseph's last November, which drew 10,000.
Summitt's son Tyler said on Saturday how much his mom was touched by Hill.
"It takes a lot for Pat Summitt to get inspired. Usually she's the one who is the inspiration," Tyler Summitt said.
"When she came back and we talked, she said, 'Man, I love Lauren, she's a fighter. I love that kid.' "
Upper Deck released a card last month that features her. The card is available on Hill's website, The Cure Starts Now, for $10.
Other award winners included Princeton's Courtney Banghart as coach of the year and UConn's Breanna Stewart as the Anne Meyers Drysdale player of the year.
Former NCAA vice president of women's basketball Sue Donohoe was honored with the inaugural Mary Jo Haverback Award given to a person who excelled at servicing the media or providing an inspiration to those in sports journalism.