University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols Support Lauren Hill
October 31, 2014 | Women's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Number 22. Only two players have ever had a Lady Vol game jersey with that number on it. After the jersey was retired on Feb. 18, 1980, no basketball player has had a No. 22 Tennessee jersey since then. There wasn't supposed to be another one. Until now.
Lauren Hill, a freshman basketball player at Mount St. Joseph University, joins third-year UT head coach Holly Warlick (1976-80) and Joy Scruggs (1971-75) as the only basketball players to possess a Tennessee uniform with double deuces. Hill's inspirational story moved Warlick, Tennessee's third-year head coach, and Michael Beaumont, the team's director of operations, to find a way to show Tennessee's admiration and support for Hill in any way they could.
"We were all very touched and moved by Lauren's story and her desire to play one more basketball game," Warlick said. "We've talked a lot this preseason about being thankful for what we've been given and taking advantage of every day, because you never know what can happen.
"Lauren's attitude and fight and spirit embody exactly what we've been trying to convey, so we couldn't help but connect and relate to her immediately. She's one of us.
"We can't be there in person, but we send her our very best wishes as she takes the court, and we will certainly be cheering her on from Knoxville."
Warlick and members of the 2014-15 Lady Vol squad had their photos made wearing the No. 22 jersey to create a support graphic. They then shipped the jersey, with Hill's name on the back, to her to wish her good luck in advance of her Nov. 2 season opener vs. Hiram College. SportSouth, FOX Sports Ohio and CSN Chicago will televise the game live at 2 p.m. Eastern time. It will be re-aired Nov. 3 at 11 a.m. ET.
The game will also be available to all users on FOX Sports GO, the app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store and Windows Store.
Hill is fighting an inoperable brain condition, and doctors have told her she won't live beyond December. The NCAA granted MSJ an exception to move its opener up prior to the allowed opening date. The 5-foot-11 forward and her squad, then, will take on Hiram College before a sell-out crowd at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati on Sunday.
Hill and her family issued the #Layup4Lauren challenge to raise awareness and money for The Cure Starts Now Foundation, a non-profit charity that raises funds toward a cure for DIPG (Diffuse Instrinsic Pontine Glioma). All proceeds from Sunday's $5 admission charge will go to that cause.
There's also a poignant hashtag of support that people across the nation are using to signify Lauren's goal and the reason for Sunday's event: #1More4Lauren.
"I still love the roar of the crowd and the bouncing of the balls and the squeaking of the shoes and people working hard and fighting. And I just can't wait to be standing on this court in a basketball uniform, with the No. 22."
-- Lauren Hill
