FORT WORTH — Hailey Van Lith is trying to get with TCU where she went three times with Louisville, deep into the women’s NCAA Tournament. As fate would have it in the standout guard’s fifth and final March Madness, Van Lith faces her old team in the second round Sunday.

When TCU's Hailey Van Lith takes the court Sunday, she will face her former Louisville program and her best friend, Merissah Russell.

Amid questions about what position Van Lith could play at the next level, Van Lith answered her critics by not only being named the best player in the Big 12, she also broke TCU’s single-season record for assists in the Horned Frogs’ win over Fairleigh Dickinson.

Hailey Van Lith and Madison Conner are among eight TCU players who have been on teams that advanced past the opening weekend of the women's NCAA Tournament.

TCU's Hailey Van Lith faces Louisville, the program where she began her college career, in the women's NCAA Tournament. What to know of her transfer:

Both Louisville coach Jeff Walz and TCU star Hailey Van Lith, who went to the Final Four with the Cardinals in 2022, downplayed the second-round showdown that will see them on opposite sides of the court for the first time.

Hailey Van Lith has been circling Louisville ever since she left the Cardinals as a graduate transfer two seasons ago. On Selection Sunday last season, LSU and Louisville were not only placed in the same region,