Tag: Hailey Van Lith

LSU women’s basketball star Hailey Van Lith reportedly enters transfer portal

Hailey Van Lith didn’t declare for the WNBA draft, but she’s reportedly moving on for her final season of college.

It looked like [autotag]Hailey Van Lith[/autotag] was coming back to Baton Rouge on Thursday morning.

After Wednesday night’s deadline to enter the 2024 WNBA draft came and went without an announcement from Van Lith, she appeared likely to return for another season in Baton Rouge. But Thursday afternoon, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that Van Lith has instead opted to enter the transfer portal.

A transfer addition last offseason from Louisville, the Wenatchee, Washington, native was a two-time First Team All-SEC selection with the Cardinals. Her addition was expected to lead the Tigers to a repeat as national champions this season.

But her time with the Tigers had its ups and downs. She moved to point guard this season, and the result was an unsurprising drop in production. After averaging 19.7 points at Louisville last season, that number dropped to 11.6 this year.

She also saw her minutes decrease with the emergence of [autotag]Last-Tear Poa[/autotag] down the stretch, though she started all 33 games she appeared in this season.

In the Elite Eight loss to Iowa, Van Lith scored nine points but shot just 2 of 10 from the field. She also drew Caitlin Clark, who scored 21 points, on defense for most of the game and had her fair share of struggles.

A fourth-year junior, she had the option to join [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] in the WNBA draft or return to school. She has chosen the latter, though it seems she will not be playing for the Tigers.

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Hailey Van Lith doesn’t declare for WNBA draft as deadline passes

Hailey Van Lith hasn’t made any public announcements as the draft deadline has now passed.

The deadline to declare for the WNBA draft came and went on Wednesday, and LSU’s [autotag]Hailey Van Lith[/autotag] is yet to announce her plans.

[autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] declared and the assumption was Van Lith would too. Both were honored at LSU’s senior day last month, but official decisions were up in the air.

With Reese off to the WNBA, Van Lith’s next step is still unclear. It’s possible she silently declared, but if she didn’t, that could mean a return to LSU is in the fold.

Van Lith passing on the draft doesn’t guarantee a return to LSU. The senior guard could opt to hit the transfer portal again and explore her options elsewhere.

Van Lith’s numbers at LSU were below the standard she set at Louisville, but with Reese gone, Van Lith has the chance to take center stage on next year’s team.

Van Lith, along with [autotag]Flau’jae Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Mikaylah Williams[/autotag] could form one of the nation’s most dynamic backcourts.

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LSU’s Kim Mulkey reveals postgame comments to Iowa’s Caitlin Clark: ‘I sure am glad you leaving’

Kim Mulkey seems to be relieved that Caitlin Clark is off to the WNBA.

LSU came up short in its hopes of returning to the Final Four in Monday night’s Elite Eight loss to Iowa.

In a rematch of last year’s national championship, which was won by the Tigers, the Hawkeyes ultimately got their revenge this time around in a 94-87 victory that propelled it into the national semifinal.

Caitlin Clark was the star of the show, per usual. With [autotag]Hailey Van Lith[/autotag] guarding her most of the game, the Tigers had no answers as she dropped 41 points in a game Iowa controlled for most of the second half.

After the game, [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag] was spotted talking to Clark in the handshake line, and after the game, she revealed her message for the likely top WNBA draft pick.

“I sure am glad you leaving,” Mulkey recalled saying. “I said, ‘Girl, you something else. I’ve never seen anything like it.'”

Mulkey also elaborated on the Tigers’ strategy in defending Clark, calling back to what she said before the game: You can’t stop her, you can only hope to contain her.

LSU clearly failed to do that.

“There’s not a lot of strategy,” Mulkey said. “You’ve got to guard her, nobody else seems to be able to guard her. We didn’t even guard her last year when we beat them. She’s just a generational player, and she just makes everybody around her better. That’s what the great ones do.”

Clark, like [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag], had the opportunity to return to college basketball next season. However, she announced last month that she would not remain at Iowa for a fifth season and will instead enter the draft, where she is projected to go first overall to the Indiana Fever.

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LSU’s Angel Reese details hate, ‘death threats’ she’s received in the last year after Iowa loss

Angel Reese opened up about the hate she has received during her time with the Tigers.

LSU’s hopes of repeating as national champions came to an end on Monday night with a 94-87 loss to Iowa in the Elite Eight in a rematch of last season’s title game.

It may have been the final game in a Tigers uniform for Angel Reese, who is a projected top pick in the WNBA draft but has the opportunity to return to LSU.

After the game, Reese took the chance to address criticism she has received from fans and media, stating that she has received death threats and hasn’t been truly happy since the team won the national title last year.

“I don’t really get to speak out on things just because I try to ignore,” Reese told reporters. “I just try to stand strong. I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times (with) death threats. I’ve been sexualized. I’ve been threatened. I’ve been so many things and I’ve stood strong every single time.

“I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and not be there for them. I just want them to always just know I’m still a human. All this has happened since I won the national championship. I said the other day, I haven’t been happy since then. And it sucks, but I still wouldn’t change. I wouldn’t change anything, and I’d still sit here and say that I’m unapologetically me.”

Reese’s teammates [autotag]Hailey Van Lith[/autotag] and [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag] also took the opportunity to defend Reese from what they perceived to be hate directed toward her.

Y’all do not get to her. Let me say it again. Y’all do not get to Angel Reese,” Van Lith said. “So you might want to throw the towel in because you’re wasting your energy.”

If this truly is the end of the road for Reese at LSU, it’s been quite a memorable two years for the Bayou Barbie.

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COLUMN: This year’s LSU women’s basketball team wasn’t equipped to play at the top of the sport

This LSU squad ultimately lacked the pieces that carried the team to a national title last season.

LSU’s championship hopes came crashing down after it ran into the force that is Caitlin Clark.

Iowa got off to a hot start before LSU managed to sustain a run of its own. It was reminiscent of the early run LSU went on in last year’s game, overwhelming Iowa with active defense and physicality in the post.

But then, [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] left the game with an ankle. She would return, but she wasn’t the same player that dominated the first quarter. Iowa took control in the second half and closed it out.

Reese’s ankle certainly played a factor and if she’s healthy, maybe LSU is advancing to the Final Four. But that’s not the reason LSU lost that game.

LSU’s going home because this team wasn’t capable of winning a title. That’s not an indictment of any individual, from Reese to [autotag]Kim Mulkey[/autotag], but this team, as a whole, lacked something.

Last year’s team had all the right pieces. Think back to that 102-85 victory over Iowa in the national title. It wasn’t just Reese and [autotag]Flau’jae Johnson[/autotag]. The difference was [autotag]Jasmine Carson[/autotag] coming off the bench and hitting five threes. [autotag]Ladazhia Williams[/autotag] scored 20 points in the post. In the backcourt, [autotag]Alexis Morris[/autotag] scored 21 and [autotag]Kateri Poole[/autotag] went two for two from behind the arch.

But this year, when Reese went cold with the ankle, the supporting cast didn’t immediately answer the call. Johnson did eventually, with a strong second half, but it was too late. Iowa already seized momentum.

LSU had three chances this year to secure a win against one of the top teams in the sport. Two against South Carolina and again on Monday against Iowa. LSU was competitive but went 0-3 in those games. At some point, we just have to admit this team wasn’t equipped to play at the top of the sport this year.

Coming off the national title, LSU was favored to do it again. Returning Reese and Johnson along with the transfer additions of [autotag]Hailey Van Lith[/autotag] and [autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] led many to believe this team would be even better.

But as the year went on, cracks started to emerge. Poole was dismissed from the team while [autotag]Sa’Myah Smith[/autotag] tore her ACL. Van Lith struggled to transition to a true point guard role. Mulkey expressed frustration as LSU struggled to defend, play in transition and protect the ball.

LSU was upset by Colorado, Auburn and Mississippi State. Three solid teams, but all well below LSU’s talent level.

I said this team lacked something, but it’s hard to say what that exact something is. If LSU had a point guard like Morris out there, is that enough to push LSU over the edge?

That wouldn’t solve the inconsistency we saw from this team or the inability to keep up with Iowa’s three-point shooting.

This team had no glaring weakness, but it had enough. And put together, it was enough to end LSU’s year. The Iowa loss is disappointing, but there’s a reason LSU was an underdog to begin with.

The immediate future is unclear. Reese and Van Lith both face WNBA decisions while Mulkey is sure to look in the transfer portal for some help at guard and improved depth.

Still, it’s hard to not trust Mulkey after her first three years in Baton Rouge. LSU will be back.

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A teary Angel Reese reminded everyone she’s just human as teammates passionately defended her

These are powerful messages from Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson.

One of the harder parts of playing sports in front of the national audience is dealing with the attention from fans, media and beyond.

After the LSU women’s basketball team fell to Iowa in the Elite Eight round on Monday night, two of the team’s best players delivered powerful reminders to all willing to listen about the very real human cost of visibility.

Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson both talked about the negative attention that the program, and Reese in particular, have received since the team won the 2023 women’s NCAA national championship.

Reese was moved to tears during both moments, as she reminded her critics that she’s human and detailed some of the hardships she has faced since becoming a national figure.

“I’ve been through so much; I’ve seen so much,” an emotional Reese told reporters after the game. “I’ve been attacked so many times. Death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened. I’ve been so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time, and I just try to stand strong for my teammates because I don’t want them to see me down and, like, not be there for them. So, I just want them to always just now, like, I’m still a human.”

Johnson provided a similarly stirring defense of Reese amid any outside criticism, talking about what a role model she is for her teammates. Her words also made Reese quite emotional.

“Y’all don’t know Angel Reese,” Johnson said. “I know the real Angel Reese, and the person I see every day is a strong person, is a caring, loving person… The crown she [wears] is heavy… She’s the type of teammate that’s going to make you believe in yourself.”

Van Lith also vigorously defended Reese, saying that any hate was not going to get to her.

It’s always an important reminder that we always engage with athletes, especially those playing at the collegiate level, with empathy and respect, as nothing that happens on the court is as important as how those who play are treated away from the game.

It’s clear that LSU has Reese’s back, and you can only hope more people will heed this message and treat all of these athletes with care and class.

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Flau’Jae Johnson, Hailey Van Lith fiercely defend Angel Reese: ‘People speak hate into her life’

“Y’all do not get to Angel Reese, so you might want to give it up,” Hailey Van Lith said after the loss to Iowa.

LSU’s season came to an end on Monday night in the Elite Eight against Iowa as the Hawkeyes took the national title rematch 94-87 to advance to the Final Four.

Despite a valiant effort from star [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag], who had a 17-point, 20-rebound double-double, the Tigers couldn’t keep their hopes alive of repeating as champions.

Reese has faced quite a bit of criticism, mostly as a result of her passion and intensity. Much of it also crosses a line, and it isn’t lost on her teammates, who took the opportunity to defend their leader after the game.

“Everybody can have their opinion on Angel Reese, but y’all don’t know her. Y’all don’t know Angel Reese. I know Angel Reese,” [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag], who led the Tigers with 23 points in the loss, said. “I know the real Angel Reese and the person I see every day is a strong person. Is a caring, loving person. The crown she wears is heavy. She’s the type of teammate that’s going to make you believe in yourself.

“The leap that I took from my freshman to my sophomore year, Angel gave me that confidence to go be a dog. Playing next to a dog every day. And just to see how the media ridicules her, this is my sister here and I’m so proud of her. How they like to twist it and call her the villain, y’all don’t know Angel… She just makes me a better player, and that’s what great players do.”

Guard [autotag]Hailey Van Lith[/autotag], who joined the team this offseason as a transfer from Louisville, echoed those sentiments.

“Angel’s one of the toughest people I’ve been around,” Van Lith said. “People speak hate into her life, I’ve never seen people wish bad things on someone as much as her. And it does not affect her. She comes to practice every day, she lives her life every day, she lives how she wants to live. And she don’t let nobody change that. And that’s the key to life right there.

“Y’all do not get to her. Let me say it again: Y’all do not get to Angel Reese, so you might want to give it up. Throw the towel in. Because you’re wasting your energy. Angel is one of the toughest people I’ve been around.”

It remains to be seen if Reese, who has a remaining season of eligibility as a fourth-year junior but is also eligible for the WNBA draft, has played her last game with the Tigers.

But regardless of what she ultimately decides, she has already achieved legend status at LSU. And it seems she’s made quite the positive impact on her teammates, as well.

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Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese could only shrug off Caitlin Clark’s spectacular Elite Eight performance

Well, what can you do?

Iowa women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark caught fire during her team’s 94-87 Elite Eight victory over LSU, and all the Tigers could do was shrug off the stunning performance from Clark on Monday night.

On two separate occasions, LSU standouts Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith shrugged at Clark’s stellar 41-point performance on the court in a “What can you do?” fashion.

To be honest, there really isn’t much you can do when Clark gets going, and Reese and Van Lith learned the hard way what it’s like to be on the receiving end of an amazing offensive explosion from the Hawkeyes legend.

Sometimes, all you really can do is shrug it off when Clark is on her A-game.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN. 

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Hailey Van Lith’s inability to stop Caitlin Clark during LSU vs. Iowa inspired some great memes

Hailey Van Lith did not have a good time.

LSU women’s basketball guard Hailey Van Lith had a tall task in guarding Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark during Monday night’s Elite Eight game in Albany, New York.

Well, Clark didn’t have too much trouble finding the basket while Van Lith was guarding her during the contest, as the LSU guard’s defensive effort fell short of slowing down the Iowa elite scorer.

As the internet is wont to do, Van Lith’s defensive woes turned into an instant meme. While anybody would struggle to slow down Clark when she’s on her A-game, Van Lith still caught plenty of flak from sports fans.

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Hailey Van Lith correctly predicted MTSU’s upset over her former Louisville team on Selection Sunday

Hailey Van Lith, everybody!

Hailey Van Lith tried to tell everyone that MTSU wasn’t going to be an easy matchup for Louisville. On Friday, MTSU steamrolled the Cardinals to win their first NCAA tournament first-round win since 2007.

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Somewhere, Hailey Van Lith is saying, “I TOLD YOU SO.” During Selection Sunday, lip-readers thought they uncovered Van Lith predicting a Lousiville loss to MTSU. The colorful language she used suggested she knew it would be a handful. Well, she was right. Actually, she was spot on.

Lousiville was rolling early, but turnovers and foul trouble unraveled them. Add in a filthy 20-point performance from Savannah Wheeler in the second half, and it just wasn’t their day. Louisville made it interesting with just 40 seconds remaining but couldn’t come up with a win. For the first time since 2010 —  and just the second time in Jeff Walz’s tenure — Louisville will not advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Fans have been seemingly waiting for this moment and came prepared with the jokes and receipts.

 

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