I’m ex Angel Reese teammate lit up by Caitlin Clark – now I’m out for March Madness glory after silencing doubters
Hailey Van Lith has been a star for years.
She was a standout in high school before spending three seasons in college at Louisville where she twice earned first-team All-ACC honors and led the Cardinals to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament as a sophomore in 2022.
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Following her junior season she transferred to LSU, joining forces with the likes of Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson on the reigning national champion Tigers.
The team entered the season at No. 1 in the AP poll and women's college basketball had a veritable Big Three.
But Van Lith, and the Tigers, were badly humbled on the grandest stage of all.
LSU faced women's basketball phenom Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament -- a rematch of the national championship game from the year before.
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Van Lith learned the hard way that there are levels to this sport.
Clark lit up the young point guard for 41 points, who was powerless to stop her.
The site of Van Lith haplessly trying to contain Clark and shrugging her shoulders as the now WNBA star backpedaled down the court after making a signature 3 was difficult to watch.
Van Lith, once deemed a shoo-in for the WNBA Draft, saw her draft stock tank in the wake of that embarrassing defeat.
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Soon after, she announced her decision to forgo the pros and play her last year of college eligibility at TCU, where she has since been reborn.
HVL recently opened up about that period of her young career, powerfully admitting they were the 'darkest moments of her life'.
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Van Lith averaged 17.9 points, 5.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Horned Frogs this season.
She led TCU to a 31-3 record and a first place finish in the Big 12 Conference -- winning the Big 12 regular-season title.
The 23-year-old also went on to won the Big 12 Tournament Championship with TCU, where she was named the tournament's most outstanding player.
The 5-foot-9 guard scored 20 points in the Horned Frogs' recent 64-59 victory over Baylor.
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Through three games in the tournament, Van Lith totaled 63 points.
On Tuesday, 11 March, she was named The Associated Press' national player of the week in women’s college basketball for Week 18 of the season.
It's fair to say she's more than silenced the doubters.
College basketball fans have even been issuing apologies to Van Lith for writing her off too soon.
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"A lot of people owe Hailey Van Lith an apology after she was forced to sit in the corner at LSU while Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson took 40 shots a game," one fan wrote.
"Based on the out come I would say that experience was the best thing that could of happened for her," one fan added.
It's been a remarkable turnaround from the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup gold medalist, who also won bronze with the 3x3 team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After winning the Big 12 Tournament Championship, HVL's attention turned to March Madness and putting the ghosts of last year's tournament to bed.
“I took my experience in the previous years and I learned from [it],” Van Lith recently told reporters.
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“I think some people go through things and they forget about it. I never forgot. I remembered what I learned in those low moments of my life.”
The superstar showed a vulnerability that is rare among college athletes when speaking to the media after TCU's 85-70 victory over Louisville in the round of 32.
Van Lith then led all scorers with 26 points in a 71-62 win in the Sweet 16 against Notre Dame.
No. 2 seeded TCU is heading into its first Elite Eight, where it will play No. 1 Texas.
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She has now helped her third school reach the Elite Eight of March Madness - and is the only player in history to go that far with a trio of different teams.
The clash with Texas will reignite a bitter feud that culminated in a heated handshake fallout, and is set to be must-see TV.
How to watch March Madness in the UK
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March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year for basketball fans, with a total of 68 teams battling it out to become the Division 1 college champions.
This year UConn have the chance to become only the second team ever to complete a March Madness three-peat, having emerged victorious for the last two years.
talkSPORT will have the latest news on the tournament, but for UK basketball fans the way to watch is through Sky Sports. The broadcaster will be showing EVERY March Madness game through their Sky Sports + streaming service.
, or read our article on the best Sky Sports deals available now.
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