Lauren Hill: Basketball Hero's Fundraising For Cancer Research Is Going Strong

CINCINNATI – Donations to the Lauren Hill Tribute Fund continue to pour in and have topped $400,000 thanks to a contribution from her team's opponent Wednesday night. The fund for cancer research had reached $395,000 (counting proceeds from the NCAA online jersey auction), according to The Cure Starts Now Foundation. That was before the Mount St. Joseph women's basketball team - minus Hill - played at Muskingum College. Muskingum presented a $10,000 check to The Cure Starts Now in Hill's honor. Muskingum is also donating the proceeds from ticket sales and T-shirt sales. "We just wanted to reach out and give them our support and let them know that right now, we're behind them," Muskingum coach Beth Fox said. SEE the full report at WHIZNEWS,com The Cleveland Cavaliers recently donated $10,000 to the fund to find a cure for Hill's rare, inoperable cancer, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). Thousands of fans and admirers across the country have also pitched in, with Bengals tackle Andrew Whitworth donating $22,000 in honor of Lauren's jersey number 22. See how you can help Lauren's cause below. Coach Dan Benjamin said Lauren stayed home Wednesday to rest after playing - and scoring – in the Mount's first two games. "It's a holiday tomorrow and I'm sure her family would like to see her and spend time with her and not have her sleeping all the time," he said with a laugh. Muskingum is about a three-hour drive away in New Concord, Ohio, east of Columbus. A three-hour bus ride after a 7:30 game would have brought the team home well into the morning. The Mount (2-2) lost the game, 64-49. Lauren was expected to spend last Friday's game on the bench when the Mount played in a weekend tournament outside Cleveland. But she bugged Benjamin to let her in late in the second half. She played just long enough to take one shot, score a basket and thrill her teammates and a small crowd of 320 in the tiny Baldwin Wallace University gym. She skipped the next day's game and went back to her alma mater , Lawrenceburg High School, where they held a ceremony to retire her jersey. Back at the tournament, coaches and officials still voted Lauren the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Hill has inspired the nation since playing her first game Nov. 2 and making two layups in front of 10,000 cheering fans at Xavier's Cintas Center. She has been giving interviews and making public appearance to spread awareness about DIPG and to raise funds for research. Hill told WCPO last week that she wanted to spend more time with her family. Her doctors have told her she won't make it to Christmas. Mount's next game is next Wednesday, Dec. 3, at Transylvania. The Lions don't play a home game until Dec. 13. Source:yahoo