BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Hailey Van Lith could be the most unstoppable force in college basketball. Her shot-creating ability and tenacious defense led the TCU Horned Frogs into the Elite Eight with a 72-61 win over Notre Dame on Saturday at Legacy Arena. She finished with 29 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Van Lith, who played previously at Louisville and LSU, broke the TCU school single-season scoring record. She already held the single-season assist record.
Coach Mark Campbell marveled at the milestone performance from Van Lith that pushed his squad over the top, lauding her tenacity with a literal salute.
“Ms. March,” Campbell said, “is deserved and earned. She gets that title, and she can own it.”
Van Lith played intensity as the game started to get away from the Horned Frogs: She had two straight defensive impact possessions with a steal and a block to wrest the momentum away from the Irish. After the steal, she let her intensity take over with a passionate outburst.
“I mean gosh, dang,” Campbell said. “She’s an elite defender. With us she laces ‘em up and she wants to guard the other team’s best player and she does it.”
Teammates admire Van Lith’s intensity.
“I think Hailey is a dog,” senior guard Madison Conner said. "Regardless if it's the offensive end or defensive end, she is going to do anything it takes to win. She has a competitive edge.”
As she went to the sideline at the end of the third quarter, Notre Dame had just hit a layup to take the lead back. Van Lith stormed back to the bench, determined to motivate the squad with a speech.
“I think that if we were going to play steady all game, “Van Lith said. ”My message to the girls, right before we went out for the fourth quarter was, ‘We’re going to be steady and win the fourth quarter, and that’s what’s going to win us the game.'"
From there, it was all Frogs.
Van Lith single-handedly outscored the Irish 12-10 in the fourth quarter. The dagger came with 4:10 to play, as the Notre Dame defender reached for a steal. Van Lith pivoted, spun and let fly a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to push the lead to eight points.
Van Lith has now helped her third school reach the Elite Eight. Every year in college, in fact, her team has advanced at least that far. She is the only player in history to go to this round of the tournament with three different schools.
When Van Lith joined TCU, it had not made the NCAA Tournament in its near 50-year history.
"At the bottom line, at the end of the day, I think in my DNA, I impact winning,” Van Lith said before the Sweet 16 game. “Whatever form I have to take to make that happen, at this point in my career I'm willing to take that form.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Hailey Van Lith back in the Elite Eight in NCAA Women's Tournament with TCU
