When new Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith takes the court in her first WNBA game this May, it'll be against an all-too-familiar foe in Caitlin Clark.
Van Lith, who was selected as the No. 7 pick by the Sky in the WNBA draft on Monday night, will team up with Angel Reese to face Clark for the first time since her LSU and Louisville days. The Sky is scheduled to play against the Indiana Fever in their season-opener on May 17.
You may remember Clark's viral "You can't see me" gesture during an Elite Eight matchup between Iowa and Louisville that supposedly was directed at her strength coach, not Van Lith. Even with that taunting moment behind her, Van Lith will want to get her WNBA career off on the right foot, and she'll have to do so against the opponent that made her life so difficult on the court. Clark's Hawkeyes knocked out Van Lith's teams two separate times in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, beating Louisville in 2023 and then LSU a year later.
Ahead of the Sky-Fever matchup, Van Lith's brutally honest quote on guarding Clark has resurfaced:
"She's very skilled, she's a great player. She hit some tough shots, and there's not a whole lot you can do about some of the threes she hit," Van Lith said in a 2024 LSU press conference.
The rest of the WNBA would probably agree with that statement.
Regardless, Van Lith showed Clark nothing but love and respect during her collegiate hooping days and will likely continue to follow that trend in the pros.
"I think we're both great players. I love Caitlin and I respect her game so much," Van Lith told Holly Rowe in 2023. "I think she's a great person who supports other players as well. She's always showing love, and I love that about her."
"Some smack talk though?" Rowe prodded.
"Nah, she's my buddy. All love, all love," Van Lith said.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Hailey Van Lith’s Line on Playing Against Caitlin Clark Resurfaces After WNBA Draft.
