Fans Love Hailey Van Lith Leaving LSU in Rearview After TCU Win Over Notre Dame
The Hailey Van Lith experiment at LSU didn't work out like many had imagined.
After asserting herself as one of the best guards in all of college basketball during her first three seasons at Louisville, Van Lith transferred to LSU for her senior season, joining Kim Mulkey's defending National Championship team that featured Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson.
But Van Lith struggled to find her role during that season. Her points per game dropped to 11.6 from it being 19.7 one season prior and her Tigers tenure is best remembered by a clip of her shrugging after failing to contain Caitlin Clark in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Hailey Van Lith knows she can’t stop Caitlin Clark pic.twitter.com/JGq6GcEgyw
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) April 2, 2024
Van Lith transferred to TCU after that season — and is now thriving as a result. She is currently averaging 19.2 points per game and her undefeated Horned Frogs squad defeated the No. 3 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Friday.
Van Lith scored 21 points and added 7 assists in the 76-68 win.
HAILEY VAN LITH TODAY 🔥
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) November 30, 2024
• 21 POINTS
• 7 ASSISTS
• 8/15 FG
TCU BEATS NOTRE DAME! pic.twitter.com/4ynKtq7a8D
Social media is buzzing about her performance, and love to see her success at TCU after her LSU struggles.
Tyler DeLuca posted a hilarious photoshop of Van Lith in Clark's spot and Notre Dame in Van Lith's spot from the aforementioned clip of her and Clark during the NCAA Tournament.
— Tyler DeLuca (@TylerDeLuca) November 29, 2024
"Ok ok ok
"Imma lay off of HVL
"She's officially dug herself out of the hole," added X user @cc22report.
Ok ok ok
— CC Report - on Campus (@cc22report) November 30, 2024
Imma lay off of HVL
She's officially dug herself out of the hole
Another fan added, "HVL is on a revenge tour. She’s thriving at TCU, looking great out there. Glad to see her happy and excelling."
HVL is on a revenge tour. She’s thriving at TCU, looking great out there. Glad to see her happy and excelling.
— 🧝🏾♀️. (@imunbias) November 30, 2024
It will be fascinating to see how high Van Lith's stock rises for the 2025 WNBA Draft as a result of her success this season; especially if she keeps this elite form going.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
Follow GrvntYoung