Courtney Cox Cole (March 15, 1971 – September 22, 2019) was an American athlete, chiefly known as a basketball player. In 2015 she was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

High school

Cole was born Courtney Cox in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

to Dave and Jackie (Hare) Cox. She played basketball at

Noblesville High School Noblesville High School is a public high school in Noblesville, Indiana, United States. NHS serves students in grades 9 through 12, and graduated its first class in 1876. Its attendance boundary includes much of Noblesville. Demographics The dem ...

, where she led the Millers to three straight IHSAA State Finals appearances, highlighted by a state title in 1987 and a state runner-up finish in 1988. She contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds in the 1987 state finals victory and tallied 29 points in the 1988 finale. She ranks 27th on Indiana's career scoring chart with 1,869 points. She won the

Dial Award The Dial Award was presented annually by the Dial Corporation Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a manufac ...

for the American high-school athlete/scholar of the year in 1988, and, in 1989, was named to ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''’s All-USA high school girls basketball team, and to ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' magazine's

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n team.

College career

Cole competed at the varsity level in both basketball and golf at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. In two seasons (1989–1990, 1990–1991) of basketball for the Hoosiers, she started in 22 games, tallying 301 points and 71 assists. Cole excelled on the golf course as well under coach Sam Carmichael. A four-year member of the IU golf team, Cole averaged a 78.94 while at Indiana. Cole earned All-Big Ten honors on three occasions and qualified for the NCAA Championship in 1993. In the classroom, Cole collected one Academic All-Big Ten honor in basketball and three in golf. Cole graduated from Indiana in 1994 with a degree in finance and accounting.

Later life

In 2008 she and her younger sister Monica Peck bought their parents out of a family-owned auto dealership in Noblesville, Hare Chevrolet, which they promoted as "Sisters of Savings" before selling it in 2017. Cole took the lead on the marketing side of the business, growing sales from 140 to 500 vehicles a month. The company originated as a wagon dealer in 1847.

Death

In 2013, Cole was diagnosed with stage III lung cancer. A few years later, the cancer metastasized and spread, attaching itself as a tumor to her upper right bicep. Cole chronicled her cancer battle in a local newspaper. On September 22, 2019, at age 48, Cole died at Riverview Hospital in Noblesville, Indiana, after being treated for a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

the prior week.Courtney Cox Cole, IU and Noblesville basketball star, dies at 48
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Courtney Cox 1971 births 2019 deaths Basketball players from Indiana Indiana Hoosiers women's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Noblesville, Indiana Sportspeople from Hamilton County, Indiana Golfers from Indiana Deaths from lung cancer in Indiana