Texas Players, Louisville Star Get In Bizarre Exchange In Handshake Line

Louisville basketball star Hailey Van Lith didn't seem too happy after smashing Texas in the women's NCAA Tournament.

The Cardinals hammered the Longhorns 73-51 Monday, but the drama wasn't while the game was happening. Van Lith, who averages more than 19 points a game, exchanged words with Sonya Morris in contentious fashion, but that's not where it ended.

The star guard went through the rest of the handshake line in what could best be described as childish behavior. She limp-wristed high fived the rest of the Texas roster before walking away and seemingly explaining the situation to a staffer.

Hailey Van Lith downplays the incident.

Following the action, Van Lith spoke with the press and made it clear she had zero intention in digging into what occurred. She acknowledged sports "get chippy" but the focus should be the ticket Louisville punched to the Sweet 16.

"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, you know. No hard feelings, I assume that they'll do the same. I'm just proud of our win. I don't want to focus on what happened at the end.

It was a very weird situation.

Whatever the cause was, this whole thing was weird for everyone involved. It's impossible to tell what was said and Hailey Van Lith doesn't seem interested in breaking it down.

I think it's safe to say fans definitely want to know what happened because everything about this situation is odd. Clearly, Sonya Morris had something she wanted to say, and Hailey Van Lith wasn't impressed.

However, it should have died there. HVL going through the rest of the line behaving like a child and not taking it seriously also wasn't necessary. Texas is going home and Louisville is advancing to the Sweet 16.

Why is Hailey Van Lith sweating anything? Just kick back and party. No need to engage in childish antics.

Also, HVL has a hell of an Instagram followers. She's currently sitting with more than 675,000. If basketball doesn't work (seems like it will), she already has the inside track on being an influencer carved out and ready to roll.

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David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.