'I Live for this Moment': Van Lith's Clutch Play Powers Louisville to Sweet Sixteen

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On Sunday night, the Louisville women's basketball program found themselves in a largely unfamiliar position: in a dogfight.

Just two days earlier, the top-seeded Cardinals had easily dispatched sixteenth-seeded Albany in their NCAA Tournament opener to the tune of the 83-51. It was a result that mirrored most of their games over the course of the regular season, as Louisville entered their Round of 32 matchup against No. 9 Gonzaga with an average scoring margin of +17.6

Early in their showdown with the Bulldogs, it seemed like another blowout victory was in store for the Cards. Partially fueled by a KFC Yum! Center atmosphere that was as electric as it had been all season, Louisville scored the game's first 14 points. On both ends of the court, it seemed the Gonzaga was rattled to their core.

That is, until they responded with a 12-0 run of their own. The Zags were able to keep it close with the Cards for the entire second quarter, even taking a brief lead before falling behind by four at halftime. Once the teams reconvened, they scored the half's first four points to tie it up, and were determined to pull off their second straight upset after defeating eighth-seeded Nebraska in the opening round.

It was at this point that Hailey Van Lith decided to take over

The 5-foot-7 point guard had a relatively quiet first half, pouring in six points on 3-9 shooting. But when Gonzaga made it tie game early in the second half, her killer instinct kicked in. She went on an 8-0 run by herself on a fastbreak layup and back-to-back three-pointers, then added a pair of free throws a few minutes later to cap off a 15-3 run in favor of Louisville.

The Bulldogs briefly got the lead back the single digits early in the fourth quarter to try and take back some momentum, but Van Lith then scored five of the Cards' first seven points of the final period to push that lead up to 13 with 5:31 left. Louisville would end up winning 68-59 to punch their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen.

In a high pressure situation like that, with the season on the line, many players could find themselves wilting under the bright lights. But not Van Lith.

"I live for this moment, and I love it and I embrace it," she said after the game. "My teammates do, too. I feel like we're a team that if it's a close game, we have that clutch gene in us, and we can get a bucket."

Facing a team whose campus is a roughly three hour drive to the east from her hometown, the Wenatchee, Wash. native put Louisville on her back, finishing with a game-high 21 points.

That was far from her only clutch moment this season. In just the game before against Albany, Van Lith had a 20 point performance as well. She averaged 13.8 points during the regular season, cracking the 20-point threshold four times, including a career-high 34 points at Clemson on Feb. 3.

In her mind, a tie game with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line was just business as usual.

"I love the pressure, like it's an adrenaline rush for me," She said. "My teammates think it's funny and they think I'm crazy, but I just love it. ... it's what makes basketball fun and special, and that's why everyone knows about great moments in history with plays like that."

Her passion, determination and sheer will to win was obvious. She was locked in as soon as the ball tipped off, but also found time to put on display her expressive nature.

On several occasions, Van Lith was clapping in between play to pump up her teammates, or cheering on the fans in attendance. She even did a half-pirouette towards the crowd after her final three-pointer of the night went through the net.

"I'm very passionate about basketball and I really love to play, and this is the tournament that you live for," she said. "I care about my teammates a lot, and so I want to win.

"If I do that by saying "and-one" too much, everyone knows that about me, they make fun of me, I always scream "and-one" even if it's an uncontested lay-up. It's just how I am, and I'm very passionate and that's how I'm going to continue to play."

The mix of high energy and a craving for the high pressure situations, as Van Lith said, could very well earn her the moniker of "crazy" by those on the outside looking in. But Emily Engstler, sitting alongside her in the postgame press conference, said it best: "Crazy people win championships."

"She'd want to play 40 minutes if I'd let her," head coach Jeff Walz added on Van Lith, who played 37 minutes against Gonzaga. "But I know to have her at her best, I've got to give her a break here or there."

"Hailey loves the moment. She loves to be in that moment," Walz said.

(Photo of Hailey Van Lith: Alton Strupp - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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