As if last year’s NCAA Champions and the No. 1 ranked LSU Tigers women’s basketball team needed any more help, they will now be welcoming senior guard Hailey Van Lith into the mix. After spending her first three years of college at Louisville, Van Lith has elected to take her talents to LSU. For those who aren’t familiar with her game, here is all you need to know.
Van Lith is coming off her best season to date as she led the Louisville Cardinals to the Sweet 16 in the 2023 NCAA tournament. She led the Cardinals in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game to go with 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
Per Louisville’s website, Van Lith was one of two Power-Five players to average at least 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game. The other player was reigning AP Player of the Year Award winner and University of Iowa sensation, Caitlin Clark. Any time a player is on a shortlist with Clark, that is a good company to be in.
Van Lith had accolades and achievements of her own last season. She earned an honorable mention for the AP All-American team as well as ACC First Team All-Tournament honors. No, she gets to team up with Angel Reese to form one of the best duos in college basketball. Her ability to stretch the floor and make threes will be a welcomed addition.
Despite having a down shooting year in 2022-23 (29.3 percent from three), she shot no less than 36.3 percent from beyond the arc in her first two seasons at Louisville, suggesting that last season was an anomaly.
It will be fun to see how Van Lith meshes with LSU and if she can help them repeat as National Champions in 2023-24.
