Hailey Van Lith turned heads on the basketball court in college, and before the WNBA Draft started on Monday night, she was doing the same on the orange carpet.
The former TCU Horned Frogs star was glistening in a black dress. Paige Bueckers, Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron, Georgia Amoore, Aneesah Morrow, Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers joined Van Lith on the carpet ahead of the draft.
It was Van Lith who got social media talking.
“It’s a funeral, babe. It’s a college funeral,” she said of her outfit.
Van Lith entered the draft following her final collegiate season at TCU. She helped lead the Horned Frogs to a Big 12 Championship before losing in the Elite Eight. It was the first time the program had ever made it that far in the NCAA Women’s Tournament.
She averaged 15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 172 career games. She was an All-American for the first time last season.
Van Lith went viral before the season was over when she spoke at length about her mental health.
“The way that I got exposed to the media and social media at such a young age, I really struggled with mental health things,” she said, via Sports Illustrated. “When I was younger and in college, I was suicidal, I was heavily medicated, and I felt trapped.
“You would never know because I was having a ton of success on the court, but internally, and in life in general, I was ready to be done. That’s what I mean when I speak on suffering and pain. It’s like I didn’t even want to live.
“So, to come from that to this is incredible. I’ve been praying all year like, ‘God, I know you’ve given me this testimony to share it with the world and shed your light,’ and I think this is the year and this is the moment that he wants people to know my story and how he has taken me literally from the depths of wanting to die to this moment of loving life. Even if basketball went away today, I truly would want to be here and love these people.”
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