The Northwestern University community is grieving after a member of the women’s basketball team was found dead in her dorm room Monday afternoon. School officials released a statement via the University’s website confirming the death of sophomore Jordan Hankins.
According to the school’s newspaper, The Daily Northwestern, Paul Hubinsky interim director of resident life at the university, said there was no foul play involved in the 19-year-old student’s death. Cook County medical examiners are expected to determine the cause.
Police arrived at Hankins’ room inside of Northwestern’s Foster Walker Complex around 3 p.m. Hankins was pronounced dead on the scene.
Northwestern’s women’s basketball head coach, Joe McKeown, called his player “a remarkably dynamic young woman.”
“This is a devastating loss for our basketball family,” he said. “She brought an unwavering intensity and commitment to everything in her life. We will miss her enormously.”
After a successful high school career, in which she led her Lawrence North High to the 2014 4A Indiana State final four, Hankins was highly sought after by Northwestern. She played guard in 32 games for the Wildcats during her freshman (2015-16) season, averaging 3.8 points per game, and one rebound per contest. This season, Hankins played in eleven of the Wildcats’ 17 games. In her most recent matchup, she contributed four points in eight minutes off the bench in a 96-65 loss to the University of Maryland.
“Jordan made a dramatic impact on our Wildcats community,” said Jim Phillips, Vice President for Athletics & Recreation. “Our love and thoughts are with her family, teammates and friends.”
Besides basketball, Hankins studied pre-med at NU, and was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
The University has cancelled the team’s game against Minnesota on Wednesday. Details concerning services for Hankins are slated to be released via NUSports.com.
