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Hailey Van Lith became the butt of jokes moments after being drafted by the Chicago Sky as the No.11 overall pick. Fans were quick to check schedules, highlighting that Van Lith would be pitted against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in her WNBA debut.
Trolls claim that Van Lith is set to get “cooked by Clark”, referencing their two head-to-head matchups from the collegiate level.
@HeavensFX posted Van Lith’s photo from draft night on X and captioned the graphic:
“When you realize your WNBA debut will be another nationally televised cooking by Caitlin Clark”
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“She found out, there's nothing you can do. Nobody can shut down CC, 1 vs 1,” a user wrote.
“Caitlin Clark is going to cook Hailey Van Lith again. I feel bad for her. I always liked her,” a Caitlin Clark fan account wrote.
“to funny man,” @Everettscott13 reacted.
“We bout to see a re run of this all game,” @jsosbourne added a gif from the iconic 2024 Iowa-LSU game.
“I never thought I’d say this… but I actually feel bad for HVL,” another user chimed in.
The two guards faced each other at the collegiate level for the first time on March 26, 2023. Van Lith was part of the Louisville Cardinals at the time, going up against Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the Elite 8 of the NCAA March Madness.
Hailey Van Lith had a respectable 27-point outing. However, Clark completely dominated the duel with a monstrous 41-point, 10-rebound, and 12-assist triple-double, leading to a 97-83 win.
Their second meeting occurred almost a year later at the same stage of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. This time, Van Lith was representing the LSU Tigers and finished the contest with an underwhelming 9-point performance. Clark contributed with 41 points and 12 assists in the Hawkeyes’ 94-87 victory.
Hailey Van Lith opens up about her mid-game interaction with Caitlin Clark
At one point in the 2024 March Madness Elite 8 clash between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the LSU Tigers, Caitlin Clark was replicating WWE superstar John Cena’s famous “You Can’t See Me” gesture. Due to camera angles, it appeared as though Clark was taunting Hailey Van Lith, giving rise to media headlines and creating a rivalry between the two players’ fan bases.
However, Van Lith clarified that there was no animosity between the two by revealing details of their text message.
"Right after the game, I texted her, and I was like, 'The media is dumb. I'm sorry. They just make stuff up, and then they just put it all over the internet, and everyone thinks it's true'. We were laughing about it because she did it to her strength coach. She didn't do it to anyone on our team, especially me… It's just funny how camera angles and perceptions are skewed,” Van Lith revealed in an interview with Bleacher Report.
In the upcoming WNBA regular season, the Sky will face the Fever on five different occasions. It is safe to assume that each interaction between the two will be overanalyzed on social media.
