South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley gave an honest take on TCU women's basketball guard Hailey Van Lith. The Horned Frogs' senior is having the best year of her decorated career, averaging 19.4 points per game on career highs in efficiency, assists, and rebounds.

This stellar start comes after a challenging season for Van Lith at LSU. TCU women's basketball is now 9-0 and ranked No. 9 in the country. The program will now face its stiffest test of the season against No. 3 South Carolina on Sunday.

In an interview with South Carolina basketball reporter Matt Dowell, the Gamecocks' head coach broke down how Van Lith has been able to turn around her career so quickly. “She's more like she was at the Louisville; she's in that mode… So you gotta go back and look at the Louisville scout and see the types of things that we did to have an impact on her.”

Hailey Van Lith is bringing TCU women's basketball to new heights

Hailey Van Lith is now at TCU after transferring from Louisville. She previously played at LSU. She has one of the top NIL valuation's among Big 12 women's basketball players.
Scott Springer/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Just nine games in, TCU women's basketball already looks poised to break its 14-year NCAA Tournament drought. This season, The Horned Frogs have already reached its highest ranking in program history, carrying signature wins over No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 13 NC State.

The duo of Van Lith and center Sedona Prince have been the catalysts for this rebirth. The two lead the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

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TCU women's basketball is led by second-year head coach Mark Campbell. Campbell is proving to be one of the sports' rising stars. He previously led Sacramento State to a tournament berth in 2022 and now looks poised to be a National Coach of the Year candidate this season.

The Horned Frogs are now the only undefeated team remaining in the Big 12. While TCU looks like the favorite in the conference, plenty of dangerous contenders lurk in the background. These teams include No. 13 Kansas State, No. 15 West Virginia, and No. 20 Iowa State. Sunday, however, will be Hailey Van Lith and company's most challenging test of the season.

The Gamecocks are the dominant team in the sport, having won two out of the last three national titles. While South Carolina saw its 43-game winning streak fall against UCLA recently, Dawn Staley's team is still one of the favorites to cut down the nets in March.

December 8th will, therefore, be a litmus test for TCU women's basketball. Should the Horned Frogs pull the upset, they are not only the clearcut favorites in the Big 12 but should also be taken seriously as a national-title contender.

Hailey Van Lith has proved many haters wrong with her 2024 season so far. She'll have even more opportunities going forward to not only keep the haters quiet but potentially get them on the TCU women's basketball bandwagon.