Hailey Van Lith powers TCU past Notre Dame in NCAA Tournament for its first Elite Eight appearance

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — With the shot clock winding down, Hailey Van Lith looked a bit helpless as she searched for a teammate to pass to. No one seemed to be open as the fifth-year guard for the second-seeded Horned Frogs spun around and retreated to the 3-point line.

And then, she decided to just finish the possession herself.

The 5-foot-8 guard rose and fired, swishing a shot from behind the arc that felt like a dagger going into the gut of third-seeded Notre Dame. For TCU – playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time ever – it capped off a 14-5 fourth quarter run that gave it an eight-point lead with about four minutes to play.

“Clearly, one of their defensive strategies was to go under on all (ball screens) with me. That’s okay. I definitely can shoot the 3, but also I can get to the rim on a lot of people,” Van Lith said. “If you leave me wide open, I’m going to stick it. It felt 100 percent natural, 100 percent in rhythm. I just stayed composed, pulled back and shot it, and I knew it was in as soon as I let it go.”

Minutes later, Van Lith twisted that knife again, connecting on a layup in-traffic to push her Horned Frogs’ advantage to nine points with less than 70 seconds to play.

Weeks ago, Notre Dame was the No. 1 team in the country. Now, for the fourth consecutive season, their campaign has ended in the Sweet 16. The kryptonite in Fighting Irish’s story this year was Van Lith, the former Louisville guard who clashed with the Irish several times in the ACC. She was happy to fill that role once more.

“I’m naturally competitive, so you don’t have to do too much for me to want to compete. I have a ton of experience with Notre Dame, and I do have a chip on my shoulder about some things,” Van Lith said. “I don’t personally feel any extra hostility towards them… I’ve won most of those battles. I love to win.”

Indeed, she is now 7-2 all-time against Notre Dame.

And Van Lith will now play in the Elite Eight for the fifth time in her collegiate career.

In Birmingham’s Legacy Arena on Saturday afternoon, Van Lith powered TCU to its first-ever regional final in the NCAA Tournament by pouring in 26 points, nine rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block in a 71-62 victory for the Horned Frogs over the Irish.

Her point total also pushed her into TCU’s history books, making her the most prolific single-season scorer in program history.

“She is just ready to go to war and give it everything she’s got,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said of Van Lith. “I think that’s what allowed this team to keep on doing stuff that’s never been done.”

Photo by Elaina Eichorn/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

When the buzzer sounded, Van Lith balled-up her fists and raised her arms in victory. She slapped Sedona Prince’s hand and chest-bumped her, then hugged Madison Conner. As she did an on-court TV interview with ESPN, her teammates ran over to their band and cheerleaders, jumping, screaming and celebrating. As she finished that interview, her teammates sprinted back over and mobbed her, she yelled in the ESPN microphone: “THIS IS WHY!”

Van Lith is the first player in the history of college basketball — men or women — to appear in the Elite Eight with three different schools. She did it with Louisville and LSU, and now she has the Horned Frogs’ on the cusp of the Final Four. Van Lith has had an incredible season for TCU, but March is where she thrives the most.

“I feel like she saw the ball going in and she kind of rose. You could tell her energy, her confidence was getting stronger, play by play,” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said of Van Lith. “I thought she made some really good defensive plays as well. Yeah, this is that stage where great players emerge, I thought and she had a really complete game.”

Beating Notre Dame was no easy task though. Van Lith emerged from the game looking like a warrior who had been in a battle. She had countless cuts on her arms and blood trickling out from her right knee. But the 23-year-old from Wenatchee, Washington, played nearly 40 minutes with contagious confidence and an exuberant amount of toughness — as if she was capable of taking on hell with a water-gun.

“My trainer knows I’m going to bleed at least once a game. I have scars all down my body from cuts that haven’t healed. And I’m okay with that. I’m a tough girl,” Van Lith said. “I grew up with an older brother and my dad was extremely hard on me, so it’s alright. I don’t mind. I kind of like it. I’m all bandaged up. I kind of feel like a badass.”

Photo by Greg Fiume/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

There was a moment where it felt like TCU’s storybook season was close to coming to an end. Midway through the third quarter, Notre Dame was flexing all of its muscles as one of the sport’s signature programs as it took a nine-point lead.

But the experienced Van Lith never flinched. She hit a stepback jumper, then she connected on a layup, then she stole the ball from Sonia Citron, and then she blocked Hannah Hidalgo’s layup attempt and briefly stared her down before feeding Prince a pass that led to two free throws. Van Lith then flushed two free throws of her own near the end of the frame, completing a 14-4 run that was steered by her.

“Hailey is a dog, regardless if it’s the offensive end or defensive end,” Conner said. “She is going to do anything it takes to win. She has a competitive edge. She’s talked about it a lot and you can see it in her game.”

After Notre Dame briefly retook the lead, Van Lith kept pouring gas into TCU’s tank. Early in the Horned Frogs’ game-sealing fourth quarter run, Van Lith took a dribble handoff from Donovyn Hunter, curled to the top of the key and fired from deep range as Prince’s screen effectively held up Hidalgo. After the ball swished through the net, Van Lith’s dad slapped hands and chest-bumped her boyfriend, former Gonzaga star Jalen Suggs, in the stands.

Indeed, March is Van Lith’s month. She’s now 25-8 all-time in postseason play in her career — conference tournaments and the Big Dance — giving her a 75.7 winning percentage when the games matter most.

This win for Van Lith is the latest stop on her redemption tour. A year ago in the Elite Eight, she was hung out to dry by LSU’s coaches as they refused to make defensive adjustments and continued to allow Caitlin Clark torch her. Narratives scapegoated her, and Van Lith bolted from Baton Rouge in search for a better fit.

She found it in Fort Worth, Texas, at TCU. After a trip to the Olympics where she was the only college athlete on the team and helped the USA 3×3 team secure a bronze medal, she went to work on improving her game. She’s now enjoying her best statistical season, shooting career-highs from the floor and 3-point range while also averaging a career-best 5.5 assists per game.

And Van Lith isn’t just a heralded offensive player. She’s improved as a defender too.

“I mean, gosh dang, she is an elite defender… She laces them up and she wants to guard the other team’s best player and she does it,” Campbell said. “The kid’s competitive spirit, DNA and the heart that’s inside her chest is unmatched.”

Consider that, in the fourth quarter, Van Lith outscored Notre Dame’s trio of All-American guards 12-5. Miles, Hidalgo and Sonia Citron combined for 1-of-13 shooting in the final frame while Van Lith flourished, shooting 4-of-7 and making both of her attempts from beyond the arc.

On this day, Van Lith was the best player on the court. The Fighting Irish left the floor with their heads hanging in disappointment. Van Lith marched off with her teammates around her in tears of joy. For the final time in her career, she felt the sweet feeling of beating the Irish on a big stage.

“Notre Dame is a school that has a ton of great guards. Ever since I’ve been in college, they’ve always had a really stellar guard, and so, you know, I’m willing to show up for that challenge,” Van Lith said. “When I play another really good guard, my goal of the game is to win that battle.”

There is no debate as to who won that war on Saturday.

Van Lith got the last laugh.

Miss March marches on.