Louisville star Hailey Van Lith gets candid about motivation: ‘God doesn’t think I’m an honorable mention’

Hailey Van Lith and Louisville were eliminated from the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday night and it took Iowa’s Caitlin Clark recording a historic 41-point triple-double to take care of the Cardinals.

Van Lith had a tournament-high 27 points with three assists and two rebounds in the 97-83 loss.

The two-time All-ACC guard was asked after the game whether Louisville’s failure to reach the Final Four will motivate the team to come back stronger next season. Van Lith gave a blunt answer.

“I’ll be completely honest. I’m not motivated by external factors. I’m motivated by myself and I always have been. If we woulda won the national championship this year, I woulda had the same amount of motivation in me and that’s just who I am,” she said.

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“I’m not motivated at all by the fact that they named me honorable mention. I know who I am and I know what God thinks I am. God doesn’t think I’m an honorable mention. I’ll tell you that right now. I don’t need external motivation.”

Van Lith is certainly on her way to the WNBA but whether she comes back for another season at Louisville is still unclear.

During the 2022-23 season, Van Lith averaged 19.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. She’s been one of the best women’s basketball players to come out of Louisville.

The Cardinals were tournament runners-up in 2009 and 2013 and made the Final Four last season before losing to South Carolina 72-59. The Cardinals have never won a national championship.