This Little Angel Lost Her Battle With Cancer This Week. And One of College Basketball's Great Coaches Lost It When Talking About Her.

DETROIT (TheBlaze/AP) — When Michigan State was fighting to stay afloat despite a succession of injuries to key players, Lacey Holsworth was there.

When the team rebounded to win the Big Ten tournament, the 8-year-old from St. Johns, Mich., was there.

And as the cold-shooting Spartans bowed out of the NCAA tournament at the hands of eventual champion Connecticut one win short of the Final Four, she was there.

Now, Lacey is gone.

Adreian Payne #5 of the Michigan State Spartans walks on the floor for Senior night with Lacey Holsworth, a 8-year-old from St. Johns Michigan who is battling cancer, after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes 86-76 at the Jack T. Breslin Student Events Center on February 6, 2014 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The university's biggest fan known as "Princess Lacey,"who had an especially close relationship with forward Adreian Payne, succumbed to the cancer, which she battled since 2011. Her father, Matt Holsworth, said Lacey died at their home late Tuesday "with her mommy and daddy holding her in their arms."

MSU's Coach Tom Izzo wrote a message on a white rock that read "MSU [hearts] Princess Lacey" on the Spartans' campus in East Lansing, Mich., Tuesday night where he gave an impromptu tribute to the team's superfan.

"She's been an inspiration to all of us," Izzo said. "I can only tell you that her message that should be sent is don't ever give up on anything, don't ever quit. When you face some tough times, like all of us will, make sure that you just keep fighting through it."

Recounting something Lacey said to her father after a recent trip with Payne down to Dallas, the girl said, "Dad, I'm tired, I think it's time to go home."

"I think that's home," Izzo said, breaking down in tears as he looked up to the night sky.

"She taught us a lot. She only lived three more days and her parents told me tonight she was smiling when she died," Izzo added. "I'm not sure I'd be that tough, I'm not sure my players would and I'm not sure you would.

"So if you can take something from a bad situation and make it good. When you're struggling, finals coming up, tough times, something goes wrong at home, think how lucky you are to have what you have. And learn from her that you don't have to be the biggest, the strongest to be tough, you just got to have a mentality -- and mentality has no size.

"I know they want me to tell you to try not to shed a lot of tears over it because she got to live her last month like nobody else in America. … She had something I'd like all of you to do, to smile, to smile," Izzo said.

Watch Izzo speak to a crowd of students gathered at the rock to honor Lacey:

Lacey and Payne quickly became friends after they met during one of her hospital stays. The little girl became known to legions of basketball fans, cheering on Payne and the Spartans on Twitter as they became a popular pick to win it all this season.

When it was Payne's turn to be honored during Senior Night, the 6-foot-10 center scooped up Lacey and carried her around the court. He did it again in Indianapolis after Michigan State won the Big Ten tournament, and the little girl with the blond wig was there when he took part in a recent slam-dunk competition.

In this March 16, 2014 file photo, Michigan State's Gary Harris, left, poses with the championship trophy as Adreian Payne kisses it after they defeated Michigan 69-55 in an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Big Ten Conference tournament in Indianapolis. Lacey Holsworth, who is batling cancer, smiles at right foreground. (AP/Michael Conroy)

And there she was at the Michigan State basketball banquet last month, standing next to coach Izzo, who put his arm around her as he addressed the hundreds of players, families and others in attendance.

His message: What Lacey was going through put his team's injury woes in perspective.

"I've learned they're minor injuries when you look at life," said an emotional Izzo, who paused to gather himself. "One of the greatest things I've done in my 30 years here" was seeing Payne interact with Lacey during a hospital visit.

"Watching that moment, I could never teach that. I could never coach that. I learned from him," said Izzo.

Former Detroit coach and longtime ESPN announcer Dick Vitale pledged to raise $250,000 toward cancer research over the next month and present a check in that amount in Lacey's memory during his annual gala to benefit The V Foundation for cancer research on May 16 in Sarasota, Fla.

"I talked to Matt [Holsworth] this morning. I promise you that we are not going to let her die in vain," said Vitale, who was thrilled to have Lacey attend his gala last year.

"I was just crushed" when he found out about Lacey's death Wednesday morning, Vitale said. "They should take Lacey's picture and when they define courage it should have her photo right next to it."

Lacey watched Michigan State's NCAA tournament run from the stands. After Payne scored a career-high 41 points to help Michigan State beat Delaware in its first tournament game, Payne talked as much about what his performance meant to Lacey as it did to the Spartans.

"It's like having a family member who's really sick," he said. "The only thing you can do is play basketball. You can't be there with them. Just knowing that when I play well, it makes her happy. It feels like I'm doing something, in a way, to make her feel better."

MSU kinesiology junior Danielle Bott paints on "the Rock" where over 100 gathered along the banks of the Red Cedar river on the campus of Michigan State University, Wednesday, April 9, 2014, to honor the legacy of "Princess Lacey" Holsworth, of St. Johns. The 8-year-old lost her battle with cancer Tuesday evening, April 8, 2014. Holsworth's battle has been nationally publicized due to her close relationship with her "adopted big brother," MSU senior center Adreian Payne, the MSU men's basketball team, and the Spartan community. (AP/Lansing State Journal, Matthew Dae Smith)

Back pain while dancing in 2011 led to the discovery of a football-sized tumor that had engulfed her kidney. After another tumor wrapped around her spine, her father had to carry her into a hospital on Dec. 28, 2011. She lost feeling below her belly button and couldn't walk on her own for several months, a long stretch that included the first of many visits from Payne.

Still, Lacey almost always was smiling when she was seen in public.

"She loved unconditionally and without hesitation," said Matt Holsworth, who asked that others continue her legacy by doing the same.

Lacey is survived by her parents, Matt and Heather Holsworth, and three brothers: Will, Mitchell and Luke. A memorial service is planned for April 17 at Breslin Center, Michigan State's arena in East Lansing.