An attempt at good sportsmanship following the Louisville women’s basketball team’s victory over Texas on Monday night almost went very, very wrong.
The Cardinals trounced the Longhorns by 21 points, a victory many expected. What no one expected, however, was a tense confrontation in the post-game handshake line. The bizarre moment went down as Louisville star Hailey Van Lith went to shake hands with Texas’ Sonya Morris. Almost as soon as Van Lith got there, Morris said something to Van Lith that clearly irked the Louisville star.
I don’t know what was said here. But here is Hailey Van Lith going through the handshake line with Texas. Sonya Morris was first in line for the Longhorns to talk to Van Lith. pic.twitter.com/YqvnmwiRdn
— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) March 21, 2023
Van Lith shoved Morris’ hand away and continued to shake hands with other players. After the game, Van Lith attributed the incident to the emotions of the game.
Here is Hailey Van Lith on this moment: “I have all the respect in the world for Texas. No hard feelings. Sports can get chippy, you play in the heat. At the end of the day, I’m gonna let it go. No hard feelings, I assume that they’ll do the same.” https://t.co/WsodgeKACy pic.twitter.com/JilL1DfRtV
— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) March 21, 2023
It appeared that Morris said “honorable mention” to Van Lith just before the Louisville player pushed past her.
You can’t tell what was said before but HVL pushes Sonya Morris away after Morris clearly says “honorable mention”. https://t.co/RKfyrvX3bj
— Mark Ennis (@MarkEnnis) March 21, 2023
Why Morris would say that to someone who just blew her team out is unknown. It’s also unknown if that’s what was actually said. Though, it appears to be the best guess. In any event, this incident remains the only reason to talk about women’s basketball.