In October we first learned of freshman college basketball player Lauren Hill from Indiana who was facing terminal pediatric cancer. Today it was announced that the 19-year-old, who was able to live her dream to play in a college game, passed away after raising over $1.5 million dollars for cancer research.

Below you’ll read the original story… also there are some great updates and tributes at ESPN which you can access by clicking HERE…   Be sure to scroll down the page to read the story.

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This story has nothing to do with softball, but it has everything to do with the best that sports has to offer: the opportunity to reach and realize dreams.

Lauren Hill, a freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University, has only months—maybe weeks—to live.

She has terminal brain cancer and is already showing signs of being affected to where her athletic skills are declining, but that doesn’t matter because Lauren will realize her dream when she will get to play her first—and last—college basketball game on Nov. 2.

Her story has garnered so much attention in the Tri-State (Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana) area and, really, across the nation that the venue that holds 10,000 people sold out… in one hour.

Players and parents—PLEASE watch together this video to see why sports is so important, even to providing hope and motivation to an athlete who’s sole drive in life is to live long enough to take the court for this one important game.

Click on this link to see the CBS News “On the Road” series that tells the story of Lauren Hill

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More videos telling Lauren’s story…

A video segment done Oct. 16 on CBS This Morning: