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Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith dismisses uproar over her heated exchange with Texas’ Sonya Morris, saying trash talk is common in the NBA: ‘It’s women’s basketball and people treat us differently all the time’
Louisville Cardinals guard Hailey Van Lith is done talking about her viral post-game handshake with Texas’ Sonya Morris, saying the incident ‘wasn’t a big deal.’
Morris was seen confronting Van Lith in the post-game handshake line after the Cardinals’ NCAA Tournament win over the Longhorns on Monday. Although the exact exchange hasn’t been revealed, Morris appeared hostile with Van Lith, who shoved the Texas senior away and proceeded down the handshake like while continuing to direct comments at the Longhorns guard.
The clip went viral, which wasn’t a surprise to Van Lith, ‘because it’s women’s basketball and people treat us differently all the time.’
‘I mean that happens in the NBA game every single day,’ Van Lith said ahead of Friday’s regional semifinal against Ole Miss. ‘Just because it was women’s basketball, they’re going to drag it out and it’s a whole deal. But, you know, it really wasn’t a big deal and people are trying to stretch.’
Some social media lip readers attempted to deduce what was said during the heated exchange, but Van Lith dismissed those accounts.
Van Lith (pictured) is done talking about her viral post-game exchange with Texas’ Morris
The incident between Morris (left) and Van Lith (right) took place after Monday’s game
‘I’m not on social media so I don’t know what people are saying,’ she said. ‘I don’t really, particularly, worry about it. But I think if you know me and you watched me, that actually was a very calm moment for me.’
Following Monday’s game, Van Lith told the Louisville Courier-Journal that she won’t let anyone ‘disrespect’ her, adding that her ‘teammates got my back.’
‘And I don’t have nothing bad to say,’ Van Lith continued. ‘They’re coached great. They have great players. So, it is what it is. People are sad when they lose. I’d be sad, too.’
A Texas spokesperson declined to comment about the incident to DailyMail.com.
A Louisville spokesperson referred DailyMail.com to Van Lith’s post-game comments.
The good news for Van Lith is that she can play in front of family and friends on Friday in Seattle – less than three hours from her hometown in central Washington.
‘I knew when they put out the regional locations that we had a chance to end up in Seattle, and it just ended up working out,’ Van Lith said. ‘I’m really, really excited to play in front of my hometown and people that I grew up around. I know that there’s going to be a lot of people from Wenatchee and Cashmere, all type of different support. So, I’m hoping that it feels like a home game here for us.
‘I’m super excited. I haven’t got to play in front of a lot of family in a while, so it’s going to be a special moment.’
Texas guard Sonya Morris (11) has not revealed what she said to Louisville’s Van Lith
