If Paula had been there, she’d have been in the boat. As it were, Paula Knight died just weeks before a group of women, most of them breast-cancer survivors, dipped their first oars into Hoover Reservoir on a sparkling spring day last year.

Last night, team One in Eight broke through those same waters in its own brand-new boat — a deep, almost mauve, shimmering pink, with Paula’s name on the bow.

In a small boat cruising alongside, Paula’s sister and best friend applauded and beamed.

For two years, inflammatory breast cancer, a particularly ruthless form of the disease, attacked Paula’s body. When cancer took her life at age 58, the Otterbein College professor left behind a gift, a trust to help cancer patients and their families.

When Lisa Eschleman, her closest friend and trustee of the fund, heard about One in Eight, she knew Paula would have wanted the women to have a boat of their own. Up until now, they’d relied on loaners from Westerville Crew, a high-school club that volunteered time and equipment so that the women could form a competitive team.

"It’s a perfect fit. This is just the greatest thing in the entire world," Lisa said last night as she watched One in Eight, a team named to serve as a reminder of how many women will get the disease.

"She’d be there smack-dab in the middle of the boat today."

The Mount Carmel Foundation and the Knight fund split the cost on the $23,000 vessel. Mike Vespoli, whose Connecticut company crafted the boat, donated the $1,000 custom paint job. And the $3,000 oars came courtesy of Parker Hannifin, the company where Phil Wigginton, husband of One in Eight founder Sandy Wigginton, works.

Before hitting the water last night, Sandy christened their vessel with bottled water, splashing it wildly as the rest of the 18-member team, along with family and friends, laughed and cheered.

Before that, she pointed skyward.

"I didn’t know Paula, but Paula, this is for you!"

Paula’s sister, Sharon Iseringhausen, expressed her gratitude to One in Eight for allowing Paula’s memory to be a part of the team, a team formed from a longing to embrace life after facing the possibility of death.

"If you listen closely as you row, you will hear the laughter of her spirit."