During remarks Saturday evening while being inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, Tamika Catchings dedicated her 2015 WNBA season to the memory of Lauren Hill.

Hill, if you recall, was the inspiring young woman from Lawrenceburg High School and Mt. St. Joseph’s College who stared down terminal cancer in order to pursue her dream of playing college basketball, prior to her unfortunate passing just a couple of weeks ago. Her family accepted the hall of fame’s invitation to attend Saturday’s banquet, and was appropriately honored for Lauren’s contributions to the sport.

Upon humbly accepting her award, Catchings, the three-time Olympic gold medalist, took a moment to acknowledge Lauren and her family. Catchings had a couple of brief occasions to meet Lauren and her family, including the landmark game last November in Cincinnati when Tamika and the Fever honored Lauren at halftime after scoring the season’s first points. While dedicating her own upcoming WNBA season to her memory, Catchings applauded Lauren Hill for showing all of us her tremendous courage and fight and determination.

Fight and determination have been used along the path of Catchings’ career, too. And for her ambassadorship, community presence and great play on the basketball court, Catchings was the IBHOF’s 2015 recipient of the Silver Medal Award, honoring a great contributor to basketball in our state. She was introduced, fittingly, by her new head coach and a former teammate, Stephanie White.

PHOTO GALLERY: Catchings’ Hall of Fame Induction »

Catchings reminisced briefly about the time she was drafted by the Fever in 2001. She was asked what she knew about Indiana. Her short reply, reflecting only basic knowledge of the state’s reputation, was that she knew they played basketball in Indiana. An understatement.

As her remarks proceeded, she thanked the Fever and the Indianapolis and Indiana communities for accepting her – for adopting her as part of their family.

She continued to share some of what she tells kids, who are the driving force behind her Catch The Stars Foundation. To paraphrase her comments, she said, “I tell kids to work hard. You never know where your hard work is going to take you. I could never have imagined I would be inducted into a hall of fame while I am still playing. Hopefully there is some more history still to be made.”

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