College Basketball

Hailey Van Lith: March Madness handshake drama overblown ‘because it’s women’s basketball’

Louisville women’s basketball star Hailey Van Lith has “moved on” from her fiery post-game handshake with Texas guard Sonya Morris.

The players came face-to-face and exchanged words after the Cardinals’ 73-51 win over the Longhorns on Monday to advance to the Sweet 16 of the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

Van Lith insisted that the incident — where she was approached by Morris and eventually brushed her away before storming off — “wasn’t a big deal” and that it’s being blown out of proportion.

“I mean that happens in the NBA game every single day,” Van Lith said ahead of Friday’s semi-regional game against Ole Miss.

“Just because it was women’s basketball, they’re going to drag it out and it’s a whole deal. But, you know, it really wasn’t a big deal and people are trying to stretch.”

It’s unclear what was said between the players — with many social media users attempting to investigate the viral moment.

However, Van Lith isn’t phased by the commotion online.

“I’m not on social media so I don’t know what people are saying,” the junior guard said.

Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith and Texas guard Sonya Morris exchanged words after the Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women’s Tournament March 20, 2023. Twitter
Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith and Texas guard Sonya Morris exchanged words after the Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Twitter

“I don’t really, particularly, worry about it. But I think if you know me and you watched me, that actually was a very calm moment for me.”

After scoring a game-high 21 points in Louisville’s win over the Longhorns, Van Lith told the Louisville Courier-Journal that she won’t let anyone “disrespect” her — adding that her “teammates got [her] back” and she had “nothing bad to say.”

A Texas spokesperson declined to comment about the incident to DailyMail.com.

Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith and Texas guard Sonya Morris exchanged words after the Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Twitter

A Louisville spokesperson referred the outlet to Van Lith’s post-game comments.

Van Lith said she’s excited to play in front of her hometown on Friday, when the Cardinals face the Ole Miss Rebels in Seattle.

Her family and friends live a few hours away in Cashmere, Wash.

“I knew when they put out the regional locations that we had a chance to end up in Seattle, and it just ended up working out,” Van Lith said.

Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith in a game against Notre Dame in the semifinals of the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 4, 2023. Getty Images

“I’m really, really excited to play in front of my hometown and people that I grew up around. I know that there’s going to be a lot of people from Wenatchee and Cashmere, all type of different support. So, I’m hoping that it feels like a home game here for us.

“I’m super excited. I haven’t got to play in front of a lot of family in a while, so it’s going to be a special moment.”