Louisville, Texas players exchange words at handshake line

March Madness took on a new meaning as things got heated between Lousiville and Texas players after their second-round game Monday night.

March Madness took on a new meaning as things got heated in the handshake line between Louisville and Texas players after the Cardinals' 73-51 second-round win over the Longhorns Monday night.

I don't know what was said here. But here is Hailey Van Lith going through the handshake line with Texas. Sonya Morris was first in line for the Longhorns to talk to Van Lith. pic.twitter.com/YqvnmwiRdn

— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) March 21, 2023

Louisville's Hailey Van Lith and Texas' Sonya Morris each led their respective teams in the end-of-game tradition. As they approached each other, Morris grabbed Van Lith by the shoulder and made it clear she had some hostile words for the Louisville junior.

Van Lith listened for a moment before pushing Morris away and continuing down the line, voicing some words of her own as she met the rest of the Longhorns. You can also see some of Van Lith's teammates come to her defenses and confront Morris as she herself made her way through.

Following the game, Van Lith was asked about the exchange.

“I have all the respect in the world for Texas. No hard feelings,” Van Lith said. “Sports can get chippy, you play in the heat. At the end of the day, I'm gonna let it go. No hard feelings, I assume that they'll do the same.”

Louisville cruised into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women's basketball tournament thanks in large part to Van Lith's play. The Wooden Award finalist and two-time ACC first-team member played all 40 minutes and scored a game-high 21 points.

The two teams met one another in the regular season back in November, with Louisville again emerging as the victors in a 71-63 affair.

Louisville now awaits a date with Ole Miss in the Sweet 16 on Friday. The Rebels upset one-seed Stanford in the second round.