LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The NCAA Selection Committee doesn’t create the storylines – they just happen. That’s what all of us who have sat in on a mock selection will tell you. It’s what Louisville athletics director Josh Heird, who sits on the women’s selection committee, said after the current bracket was announced, I do believe him.
But when the Louisville women’s basketball team gets a draw opposite former Cardinal Hailey Van Lith two years in a row – when she is playing for two different teams in two different cities – I have to admit that it stretches the bounds of credibility.
Yet here we are, with Louisville (22-10) facing No. 6-ranked and second seeded TCU and Van Lith on Sunday at 6 p.m. in Fort Worth in the NCAA Tournament round of 32. The Horned Frogs (32-3) are unbeaten at home, and Van Lith, an All-American this season, is far from their only weapon.
Van Lith is averaging 17.7 points and 5.4 assists per game to lead a team that also features 6-7 Sedona Prince (who played previously at Texas and Oregon) and Madison Conner, a transfer from Arizona. Though their 22-point win over FDU was the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in 19 years, the team has been built with championship intent by second-year coach Mark Campbell, a former Oregon assistant.
Van Lith came to TCU with LSU, where she played in the shadow of Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson for a team that fell short of its goal of a national championship repeat, losing to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Elite Eight.
Louisville, a team with eight freshmen that improved steadily throughout the season to earn a No. 7 seed, beat Nebraska in its tournament opener Friday. The Cards are 12.5-point underdogs heading into Sunday’s game.
But few people wanted to talk about the game on Saturday. More attention was given to the Van Lith-Louisville grudge match – where no grudges have been expressed. At least openly.
Van Lith made a statement about being glad she’s playing with teammates who support her, and there has been an inference in this city about a perceived lack of support. But her comments while here were to the contrary.
She famously and tearfully praised Jeff Walz during the program’s 2022 Final Four run, saying he had helped her to appreciate life beyond basketball. And Walz, after a Texas player tried to belittle Van Lith by saying “honorable mention” to her after a Louisville tournament victory, sprang passionately to her public defense a year later.
Hailey Van Lith in a tearful moment beside Louisville coach Jeff Walz after the team's 2022 Elite Eight win over Michigan. "I think for me he works on the person you are off the court," Van Lith said. "I'm a stubborn one, and he's had to teach me to enjoy life outside of basketball. eah. He cares about you off the court, and it's not just a business. I think it's pretty obvious the emotion that we play with and the emotion that he coaches with, that we would run for a wall -- every girl on this team would run through a wall for him."
For his part, Walz makes no qualms about pushing players with pro aspirations harder than others.
Nobody has outright said things weren’t right between the sides. Yet there’s a subtext of discomfort.
When Walz’s second question on Saturday was about Van Lith and Prince, who he also coached for USA Basketball, and why they are so good together, you could feel it.
“Like what do you mean?” Walz said. “They're both great players. What the hell? I mean, it's not like they've reinvented the game here. It's like two (expletive) players they just made great. They're really good players. They're really good players. They've got other really good players around them. You know, one thing about this game, I mean, our Final Four runs, national championship games, like it's not one player. You know, Hailey's freshman year with us we had Dana Evans on the team that was a two-time All-American. Liz Dixon in the post who is still playing professionally. I mean, Kianna Smith. I can just give you the whole list of them. So, it's not just two kids. It's the whole team. If it's just two then it's easy to win. You know, but they have got a great complement of players.”
A night earlier, Walz told reporters, of Van Lith: “We won a lot of games. Very fortunate to have great players on those teams. Kianna Smith, Dana Evans, Emily Engstler. We had really good basketball teams. She was a big part of it. She had a great career. She graduated college in three years, which nobody really talks about, and they should. Because that's our job as coaches. Sure, if you lose games, you get fired. But at the end of the day, it's to get kids to graduate from college. She did that in three years and decided to make a move, which is great. Everybody does it. It's no big deal.”
It was, of course, a big deal in Louisville, where Van Lith was very popular. She remains No. 4 all-time on the school’s NCAA Tournament career scoring list.
When she was asked about her time in Louisville on Saturday, Van Lith said, “I would say I have a lot -- one of my best friends plays for Louisville still. Probably going to be a bridesmaid at my wedding if I ever get married. Yeah, I mean, it's the people that I remember most. And we did go to a Final Four. That's life changing. A lot of emotions there, so it was a positive. Like I look back on it positively.”
She was, though, keenly aware of the storyline the game creates.
“I know that -- I understand the media, I understand the narrative that's being painted,” she said. “Doesn't necessarily align with where I am at mentally and emotionally. That's okay. It doesn't matter if people don't have the same perception as me. I'm in a really good spot. I'm excited to play. You know, this game a much bigger than me and what I got going on. TCU is looking to go to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever. That's a lot bigger than whatever else the narrative is. I'm just excited to go play.”
Jayda Curry's recovery from a shoulder injury will be a major NCAA Tournament storyline against TCU.
Olivia Cochran, Louisville’s team captain, said, “Hailey was a great teammate. I wish her the best. But at the end of the day we got to survive and move forward. At the end of the day this is basketball and it's competition, so I'm sure as well that she wants to compete as much as I want to compete against her. See it's no bad blood. All love. I'm wishing her the best. I know she's wishing me the best. That's all I got to say.”
Merissah Russell, the player to which Van Lith was referring, who roomed with her at Louisville, said, “She's a great player. We know that. We played with her for three years. But like I said, they're a great team and we're prepared to play that team. Just happy that we won the first round. Obviously, you were here last year when we were sitting up here crying. I'm celebrating that and little things. I know Coach Walz mentioned it's Jayda Curry's first tournament win in her career. There are things we want celebrate. And as O said, we wish (Van Lith) the best. We're going to prepare a great game plan, and we have great coaches. Probably the best in the country. So, we're excited to play another round. We know now. We've been to two Elite 8s and a Final Four and seen a loss in the first round. We know how precious these moments are, and so we are trying to enjoy every day and take it all in this year.”
Beyond the reunion angle, there is a basketball game. Some keys to today’s matchup:
Louisville defense vs. TCU offense
With Van Lith’s attacking the rim, Prince’s ability around the basket (and ability to step out and make shots) and Conner’s 45 percent shooting from beyond the arc, TCU is dangerous at all three levels.
Louisville is an improved defensive team that forced Nebraska into 24 turnovers in the opening round. The Cardinals will have to defend well on the perimeter and control their defensive glass to stay in contention in this one.
In the end, Louisville’s hopes likely will hinge on its ability to disrupt TCU’s offensive rhythm.
Jayda Curry’s health
The senior guard has played the best basketball of her career over the last month of the season, but missed the ACC Tournament with a shoulder injury that was aggravated in the closing minutes when she took a couple of shots against Nebraska.
She not only needs to play, but play well, for Louisville to pull off the upset.
Walz was not asked for, and did not offer, an update on Curry’s status. He suggested on Friday that she would have a limited role in practice on Saturday.
X-factors
Curry certainly is one that could swing the game for Louisville, as is Tajianna Roberts, who as an opportunity for a coming-out party against some big-time competition. The freshman has been outstanding all season.
Louisville could also used enhanced scoring contributions from freshmen guards Izela Arenas and Imari Berry, who have showed the ability to give the Cardinals a different dimension at times this season, though not consistently.
Watch for different wrinkles from Walz, who has a record of 12-2 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, including a record of 3-1 with the lower seeded team.
Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
