Lauren Hill, diagnosed with a rare brain cancer last November, made a surprise appearance in her second-ever college basketball game on Friday and then watched as her high school jersey retired on Saturday.
As Yahoo Sports reported, Hill made national headlines earlier this month, when she played in Mount St. Joseph's first game of the season — fulfilling her long-standing wish to play college ball.
She used the occasion to raise awareness and charity dollars for fighting Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, the type of cancer doctors found in her brain.
Thus far, she's raised $350,000 through a cancer research charity called Layup4Lauren. She was also honored by being put on a Wheaties box and got a personalized copy of the NBA Live 2015 videogame featuring her mid-jumpshot.
Fans were delighted to see Hill make a surprise appearance during Friday's game, where she put a few points on the board.
The next day, she was welcomed back to her high school in Lawrenceburg, Indiana for a Saturday night game. At half-time, she was surprised by students and staff, who retired her jersey, and hung it proudly beside the court.
"All this has been amazing and the continued support from everybody, and all the other teams, and the community," Hill said in an impromptu speech, thanking the crowd. "There’s really good people out there, that I’ve learned, and I’m speechless."
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