Lauren Hill, the college basketball player who fought an inspiring public battle with brain cancer and raised over $1.5 million for research while doing so, died Friday morning at age 19.

Hill, who played at Division III Mount St. Joseph University in the Cincinnati area, made national headlines last fall when the school successfully petitioned the NCAA to move its season opener to an earlier date so the freshman could play. Hill's story quickly went viral, the Nov. 2 game against Hiram College was nationally televised and Xavier University's Cintas Center was packed with 10,000 fans as Hill scored on a layup to fulfill her dream of playing college basketball.

"It's a dream come true," Hill said that day. "To play on a college court, to put my foot down on the floor and hear the roar of the crowd — I just love it so much. I love basketball.

"Everything that happened today was amazing. I'm truly happy, it's a really good day."

Despite battling an inoperable brain tumor and fighting bouts of nauseau and dizziness, Hill played four games and scored on five layups. She also started "Lauren's Fight For Cure," a non-profit that has raised over $1.5 million to research a cure for diffused intrinsinc pontine giloma (DIPG), a rare pediatric brain tumor that affects the brain stem.

- - - - - - -

Kevin Kaduk is a writer for Yahoo Sports.. Have a tip? Email him at kevinkaduk@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @KevinKaduk