CINCINNATI, Ohio (CNN)- A terminally ill college basketball player in Ohio will get a chance to make her dreams come true Sunday with her first college game.
Lauren Hill’s first game may be her last one. The 19-year-old freshman at Mount Saint Joseph University was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2013. Her diagnosis came during her final year of high school.
A few weeks before she found out, she’d signed up to play basketball at Mount Saint Joseph.
Undeterred, she played ball in high school despite rounds of chemotherapy for her inoperable tumor, CNN affiliate WKRC reported. “I never gave up for a second even when I got a terminal diagnosis; never thought about sitting back and not living life anymore,” she told the affiliate.
After doctors told her she doesn’t have much time left, the university asked the NCAA if it can move its season opener by two weeks to November 2, according to the affiliate.
The answer was yes. The game was moved to Xavier University’s Cintas Center, where it is sold-out.
Hill will join her new teammates for her first college game against Hiram College. She plans to wear her No. 22 jersey.
Support for Hill poured in ahead of the game from a few high-profile sports fans, including from Cincinnati Bengals.
