SXU Women’s Basketball Team Rallies to Support Inspiring Student in Cancer Battle

OAK LAWN, IL -- The Saint Xavier University women’s basketball team is rallying to support a classmate who has inspired all with her positive attitude and courage as she faces down a rare form of cancer.

The players are organizing a “Hoops for Hope” fundraiserfor fellow SXU student Tara Hill, who is currently undergoing treatment for Ewing Sarcoma, a type of tumor that forms in bone and soft tissue. The fundraiser starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, before the Cougars take on Palos Heights’ Trinity Christian College in the first playoff round for the NAIA women’s basketball championship.

Students will be selling “Hoops for Hope” t-shirts as well as sponsoring a half-time free throw contest for the chance to win $50. Other SXU sports teams are donating hats and sweatshirts that will be given away as door prizes. The game will be played at the Shannon Center on SXU’s Chicago campus at 3700 W. 103rd St.

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Tara, 21, who is from Oak Lawn, is a graduate of Oak Lawn Community High School where she played Spartan volleyball and badminton. She was a standout badminton player, qualifying for IHSA state finals and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in 2014.

At the end of her sophomore year at SXU, Tara was diagnosed in 2014 with Ewing Sarcoma, a type of childhood cancer that mostly affects children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 20.

A tumor had formed on her chest wall . Although Tara had hoped to heal her body through natural treatments, the tumor came back more aggressively in 2016. She has been undergoing chemo and radiation treatments at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Throughout her ordeal, Tara still kept up with her studies at SXU, where she is a speech pathology major.

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Tara is currently taking this year off to focus on her health and getting better. She goes in for chemo and radiation every two weeks.

“I’m doing really well,” she said. “I go to the clinic every few days and check on my counts. My counts are up high and everything is looking great.”

The Cougars women’s basketball team is in the hunt for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics women’s basketball championship, and are enjoying a 27-2 season under the leadership of Coach Bob Hallberg. The Cougars will face Trinity Christian College in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference quarterfinals.

Students will be selling “Hoops for Hope” t-shirts as well as a half-time free throw contest for the chance to win $50. Other SXU sports teams are donating hats and sweatshirts that will be given away as door prizes. All proceeds will go toward Tara’s medical care and help her family pay some household bills.

Tara is also looking forward to is getting out the house this Wednesday. where she will be selling some of the natural products that she and her mom make, which she credits with keeping her kidneys, liver, and blood levels at optimal levels during 30+ radiation treatments and 12 rounds of chemotherapy. The Honey Hill Naturals line includes lip balm, oatmeal based moisturizing hand soap and mist spray.

Throughout the past year, SXU students organizations have also held bake sales and bracelet sales to support Tara, raising $1,000 in one week. Last summer, current and former OLCHS students held a car wash fundraiser.

“Tara is the most positive person I know,” said Cougars guard Tomei Ball, who’s helping to organize the fundraiser. “She has a great attitude about life. She’s doing amazing right now. She’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”

Wednesday’s Hoops for Hope fundraiser and conference playoff game starts at 7 p.m. Should the Cougars win, the women’s basketball team will play Saturday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m. at SXU’s Shannon Center “where we’ll do more fundraising,” Tomei said.

For information on purchasing a Hoops for Hope t-shirt, contact Tomeia Ball by email at ball.t01@mymail.sxu.edu.

Follow Tara’s cancer journey and peruse her line of Honey Hills Naturals at OneTaraHill. The family is also accepting donations on GiveForward.