The proper mix of embarrassment and anger can be quite the motivational potion, and that's what Hailey Van Lith experienced March 4.

Van Lith, a sophomore guard for the Louisville women's basketball team, did not have a good game in the ACC tournament quarterfinals against Miami (Fla.). The Cardinals' leading scorer at 14.5 points per game, she had only eight on 2-for-10 field-goal shooting. A player who averages two turnovers in nearly 31 minutes per game, she committed four against the Hurricanes. And Miami's Destiny Harden, with Van Lith guarding her, made the buzzer-beating jumper in the Hurricanes' 61-59 upset.

"I was pretty mad about it. It showed on my face when I saw the shot going in,'' said Van Lith, who put her palms on her cheeks in a shocked look after Harden's winner. "They showed a lot of me doing that.''

Since then, Van Lith has become a dominant force in the NCAA tournament. She has scored at least 20 points in four consecutive NCAA games as the Cardinals advanced to the Final Four at Target Center, where they'll meet top-ranked South Carolina in Friday's first national semifinal. Louisville (29-4) is an eight-point underdog against the Gamecocks (33-2), but Van Lith doesn't see it that way.

"We're going to focus on us, and we're going to do what we need to do to compete,'' said Van Lith, who led the Cardinals with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting in the 62-50 Wichita Regional final win over Michigan. "They're a really great team, and we're going to have to play well, but nothing that we're not capable of.''

South Carolina will present a tremendous challenge with forward Aliyah Boston, the winner of the Naismith Player of the Year Award and a star who averages 16.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Gamecocks guards Destanni Henderson (11.1 points, 3.9 assists per game) and Zia Cooke (10.7 points) have combined to make 92 three-pointers this season.

"We know we're going to have to make sure we're focused on [Boston] and know where she is at all times, but she's also got pretty good teammates,'' Louisville coach Jeff Walz said. "We'll have a plan for tomorrow night, and then if Plan A doesn't work, we'll go to Plan B and then Plan C if needed. There is no Plan D.''

Van Lith's plan is straightforward: Keep fueling the fire from that Miami loss.

"The next day I was ready to take accountability for the fact that I did not perform well enough for my team, and I didn't,'' the Wenatchee, Wash., native said. "I told the girls, 'If I would have played better, we probably would have won.' I understand that, and that's not going to happen again this year.''