“They’re about to pop the champagne bottles”: When Hailey Van Lith dissed teams for celebrating like ‘they won the NCAA championship’

Hailey Van Lith dissed teams for celebrating like they won the NCAA championship after defeating her former team. Van Lith aimed at players who “run into the locker room” and celebrated winning against the LSU Tigers.

Hailey Van Lith transferred to the TCU Horned Frogs in April. She is averaging 19.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists on 44.2% shooting this season.

In a YouTube video with Haley Jones of The Players’ Tribune in 2023, Van Lith expressed her feelings towards players who celebrated victory over LSU like they secured the championship.

"Teams love when they beat us," Van Lith said. "I've never seen so many teams to celebrate like they won the national championship after they beat us. "Even this year (2023), we're not even ranked right now and we'll lose to a team that's ranked and they're like running into the locker room like they're about to pop the champagne bottles like all that stuff.”

The former LSU guard was quick to praise the effort of the Tigers in building the reputation as the team to beat throughout the years.

"So, I just think like that's an attest to what our program has done up to this point but also like just everyone is coming for you,” Van Lith said.

Van Lith led her team to an 87-46 win against South Florida at the Cayman Islands Classic on Sunday. She recorded 23 points and eight assists.

The Horned Frogs are 8-0 this season, with Van Lith leading the team with 7.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

Hailey Van Lith's thoughts on load management

During her interview with Haley Jones, Hailey Van Lith had a few things to say about load management across college basketball and how it has helped her prepare for the next level.

“They talk about load management but there's no time for load management in the ACC," Van Lith said. "My team is going to need me to perform. So it's a level of play that I appreciate though because I think it's very similar to what the WNBA is like and it's just going to get me ready for the next level.”

Van Lith and the No. 17-ranked TCU Horned Frogs will face Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, South Carolina on Dec. 8 and Louisana Tech on Dec. 14.