Killer Frogs

Women's Basketball: Van Lith Wins Bronze at Paris Olympics

Hailey Van Lith led Team USA in cumulative scoring over 10 games.

Tori Couch

Hailey Van Lith helped Team USA earn a bronze medal at the Olympic Games Paris
Hailey Van Lith helped Team USA earn a bronze medal at the Olympic Games Paris / TCU Athletics
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Hailey Van Lith made history in Paris. 

Van Lith, a transfer from LSU and graduate student on the TCU women’s basketball team, became the first Horned Frog basketball player to win an Olympic medal. She helped Team USA earn bronze in the 3x3 competition at the Olympic Games Paris. This is Van Lith’s seventh FIBA medal. 

Over the course of 10 games, Van Lith led Team USA in cumulative scoring and was the only active collegian competing for USA Basketball in 5-on-5 or 3x3. 

“I'm most proud of us for this last game because we went from getting our gold medal dreams crushed to having two hours to turn around and play one of the best teams in the tournament in Canada,” Van Lith said in a release on gofrogs.com. “That game was all about mental toughness. And we really got it together. We showed mental toughness. And we won ourselves a bronze medal."

Van Lith scored a team-high six points on 5-of-7 shooting in the medal-securing, 16-13 defeat of Canada. Team USA won six of its final seven games to nab a second consecutive medal. The team took gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games. 

Victories over Spain, France, Canada and China (twice) propelled Team USA to the medal round after dropping the first three games. Spain won the semifinal rematch 18-16 in overtime and ultimately took silver, finishing second to Germany. 

Van Lith arrived at TCU in April after one season at LSU and three seasons at Louisville where she averaged 14.5 points, four rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. 

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Tori Couch
TORI COUCH

Tori Couch loves the chaos and beauty associated with college athletics, particularly football and basketball. Tori even experienced it first-hand while working in Division I athletic departments. She has covered college athletics since her days as a TCU student and now writes for different media outlets including RedditCFB. 

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