How Hailey Van Lith led TCU to first Elite Eight in program history

“I wanted us to continue doing what we were doing and not let up,” Van Lith told reporters postgame. “[With] four minutes left in the game, it would be a shame if we took the foot off the gas. So I was just making sure we didn’t.”

Then, with TCU up by 7 with 1:15 remaining, Van Lith received a side ball screen from center Sedona Prince, drove past Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron and finished a right-handed layup to put the game out of reach.

Van Lith scored 12 points in the fourth quarter alone, outscoring Notre Dame to help TCU pull away. She finished with a game-high 26 points on 47.6% shooting from the field and four assists.

With the 71-62 victory, No. 2 seed TCU advanced to its first Elite Eight in program history. Van Lith became the first player in college basketball history — women’s or men’s — to reach the Elite Eight five times, and she has done it at three different programs.

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“At this point, I have ultimate confidence and faith in myself to compete at an intense level,” Van Lith said. “What I’ve learned through my experience in these tournaments is you can’t always ask yourself to make every shot, but if you’re willing to compete and lay it all out there every game, you’re giving yourself a better shot than a lot of other people are.”

“She has a competitive edge,” guard Madison Conner told reporters postgame. “She’s been at an Elite Eight every year in college; that’s a testament to how hard she works. She knows what it takes to win at an extremely high level.”

It didn’t matter what defender No. 3 seed Notre Dame threw at Van Lith. Whether it was guard Hannah Hidalgo (arguably the best perimeter defender in the country), guard Olivia Miles or Citron, she found ways to generate quality looks out of pick-and-rolls as a scorer and a passer.

“[Defenders] double her a lot in ball screens, so that leaves me, Donovyn [Hunter] and Taylor [Bigby] all wide open for threes,” forward Agnes Emma-Nnopu told The Next postgame. “Also, if you have someone going that hard to the basket, it makes it easier for someone like me to get offensive rebounds because nobody is really boxing me out.”

Related reading: How Hailey Van Lith has found redemption with TCU

TCU’s offensive system centers around Van Lith in ball screens. Among Sweet 16 teams, the Horned Frogs rank No. 1 with 28.5 pick-and-roll possessions per game, according to Synergy Sports. Van Lith initiates 52.9% of those sets.

“If you’re a good, talented guard who can hoop and play out of pick-and-roll, you’re going to have success here, and that’s Hailey,” guard Maddie Scherr told The Next postgame. “She’s going to come off every pick-and-roll and make the right decision.”

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Scherr, who has missed the entire season with a back injury, has witnessed Van Lith’s growth from multiple angles. She first faced her as a freshman in 2020-21 when Oregon played Louisville in the Sweet 16. She competed against her again after transferring to Kentucky, during Van Lith’s stints at LSU and Louisville. Now as her teammate, Scherr sees Van Lith in a new light.

“Being on the same team as her and building a real friendship is the most special part about seeing her journey,” Scherr said. “It’s been so fun for me, even though I’m not playing. It’s like I’m living through these girls out there, and Hailey especially because we’ve gotten super close.”

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Van Lith also impacted the game on defense in the third quarter, stealing the ball from Citron and blocking a shot at the rim on back-to-back possessions. She helped TCU close the quarter on a 12-6 run.

“I think Hailey is a dog. Regardless of whether it’s the offensive end or defensive end, she is going to do anything it takes to win,” Conner said. “… But defensively, we know we can count on her.”

Van Lith and TCU will look to extend their historic season on Monday at 7 p.m. Eastern time, when they face top-seeded Texas for a spot in the Final Four.