No. 2 seed TCU’s matchup against No. 7 seed Louisville could be the biggest game of the second round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament as Hailey Van Lith faces her former team.
It’ll be the first time Van Lith has faced the program where she rose to stardom at. With the Cardinals, Van Lith reached a Final Four and two more Elite Eights while being named All-ACC twice from 2020-23.
Van Lith understands why it’s such a big story line, but the Big 12 Conferene’s player of the year said she is focused on the bigger picture ahead of the 5 p.m. Sunday showdown at Schollmaier Arena.
“I understand the media, I understand the narrative being painted,” Van Lith said Saturday. “Even though it doesn’t align necessarily with where I’m at mentally or emotionally and that’s OK. I’m excited to play, this game is much bigger than me and what I got going on. TCU is looking to go to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time ever.”
It would be the first Sweet Sixteen for either the TCU men’s or the women’s basketball program and just the latest historic achievement for Van Lith and her teammates.
Van Lith’s toughness and fierceness on the court has been a prime catalyst for TCU this season and much of that mental make-up was developed with the long tournament runs with the Cardinals.
“When I was there, we always had a chip on our shoulder,” Van Lith said. “That’s probably also why I play like that still.”
Guard Hailey Van Lith played her first three college seasons with the Luosivlle Cardinals. On Sunday, March 23, she will face them in the NCAA tournament. Kirby Lee Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
While Van Lith is focused on the task at hand, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t have fond memories of her time with the Cardinals. A number of her former teammates are still with the program, including two of Louisville’s leading scorers Jayda Curry and Olivia Cochran.
“One of my best friends (Merissah Russell) still plays for Louisville,” Van Lith said. “She’s probably going to be a bridesmaid at my wedding if I ever get married. It’s the people I remember the most, we did go to a Final Four, that’s life-changing. A lot of emotions there, I look back on it positively.”
Longtime Louisville head coach Jeff Walz also had fond memories of his time coaching Van Lith. Walz is the all-time leader in wins at Louisville and has led the Cardinals on the best stretch in program history.
The best three-year run he’s had came with Van Lith as a key part of the rotation.
“We won a lot of games,” Walz said after Louisville’s win over Nebraska Friday. “We had really good basketball teams. She was a big part of it. She had a great career. She graduated college in three years, which nobody really talks about, and they should.
“She did that in three years and decided to make a move, which is great. Everybody does it. It’s no big deal.”
Van Lith said the reason she left Louisville was to find an offensive scheme that would challenge her to expand and grow her game. She thought it would be at LSU, but the home she was looking for was actually at TCU.
Amid questions about what position Van Lith could play at the next level, Van Lith answered her critics by not only being named the best player in the Big 12, she also broke TCU’s single-season record for assists in the Horned Frogs’ win over Fairleigh Dickinson.
Leading a program to its first Sweet Sixteen would be another impressive accolade in her impressive college career.
There’s an irony that Van Lith will have to go through her former team to accomplish this feat. It can be emotional for players to face their former teams, but TCU head coach Mark Campbell is confident the noise won’t get to Van Lith.
“Hailey’s so mature and wise with how she manages any narratives,” Campbell said. “Hailey’s going to show up and be laser focused. That’s what Hailey does, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing.
“It can be a closed exhibition game in October, Hailey takes that game as serious as tomorrow’s game with a Sweet Sixteen berth on the line. That’s her super power.”
Sunday’s game starts at 5 p.m. and wil lbe broadcast on ESPN.
This story was originally published March 22, 2025 at 3:31 PM.
