On Monday, Dec. 29, the Wittenberg Tigers and the Mount St. Joseph Lions squared off on the basketball court on the opening day of the 2014 Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic at Wittenberg's University's Pam Evans Smith Arena. The Tigers emerged with an 84-61 victory, but that was only part of the story.

Mount St. Joseph freshman Lauren Hill gained fame in 2014 not only for her stuggle with cancer, but her inspirational outlook on life and leadership in raising money to fight the disease. Her story inspired people around the world to make contributions to cancer research organizations, and even though she was not expected to survive through the 2014 holiday season, she was well enough to take a seat on the bench as an honorary coach for the Lions.

Prior to the game, Hill offered some brief but inspiring remarks about her condition and her goal of raising money to beat cancer in the future. Wittenberg's senior student-athletes and Head Coach Sarah Jurewicz then presented Hill with a check to be donated to The Cure Starts Now in her honor. The money was raised by team members who participated in the #LayUp4Lauren Challenge in November.

The next day, Hill participated in a telethon in Cincinnati, and she reached her goal of raising $1 million for research and awareness.