Women's Fastbreak On SI

Hailey Van Lith Had Her Dad Lit in TCU's NCAA Tournament Win vs Notre Dame

TCU star Hailey Van Lith's dad had a reaction that said it all during his daughter's dominant NCAA Tournament game against Notre Dame.
Grant Young|
Dec 8, 2024; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs guard Hailey Van Lith (10) dribbles the ball upcourt against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the second half at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images
Dec 8, 2024; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs guard Hailey Van Lith (10) dribbles the ball upcourt against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the second half at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Perhaps the most highly anticipated Sweet Sixteen matchup in the 2025 NCAA women's basketball tournament was the March 29 contest between the No. 2-seeded TCU Horned Frogs and the No. 3-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Not only are these two of the country's top teams, but each side boasts a ton of star power, particularly at the guard position. While Notre Dame has a lethal trio of guards in Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles, and Sonia Citron, the Horned Frogs have Hailey Van Lith, who has reasserted herself as one of college basketball's best players during this resurgent TCU season.

Ultimately, it was Van Lith's Horned Frogs who managed to secure a tough 71-62 win, allowing them to advance to the Elite Eight and eliminating the Fighting Irish from national championship contention.

While the aforementioned Notre Dame guards combined for 42 points, Van Lith was the best player on the court, scoring a game-high 26 points on 10 of 21 shooting from the floor to go along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

At one point in the fourth quarter, Van Lith drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Horned Frogs up by six points. The broadcast's cameras then panned to Van Lith's dad in the stands, who had a hilarious celebration that's currently making saves on social media.

X user @ShowCaseShabazz posted the video with the caption, "Hailey Van Lith for 33333333

"Her dad and bf (Jalen Suggs) turnt 😭😭😭😭".

Tyler DeLuca posted the same video and added, "Hailey Van Lith’s dad and Jalen Suggs celebrating the HVL 3 😭".

Van Lith's father surely has more celebrating in store during TCU's upcoming Elite Eight game.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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.

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