Indiana Fever On SI

Stephanie White Explains How Unrivaled Fueled Lexie Hull Breakout Season

Stephanie White spoke on the evolution of Lexie Hull's game and the benefits of her experience in Unrivaled.
Lou Orlando|
Jan 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Rae Burrell (12) of the Vinyl battles for possession with Lexie Hull (10) and Angel Reese (5) of the Rose in the first half of the Unrivaled women’s professional 3v3 basketball league at Wayfair Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Jan 17, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Rae Burrell (12) of the Vinyl battles for possession with Lexie Hull (10) and Angel Reese (5) of the Rose in the first half of the Unrivaled women’s professional 3v3 basketball league at Wayfair Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Lexie Hull has taken a leap in every season with the Indiana Fever -- and 2025 marked her biggest yet.

Fresh off a fifth-place finish in 6th Player of the Year voting, Hull carved out a steady spot in Indiana's starting lineup, drawing 30 starts in 44 games and logging a career-high 27.0 minutes a night. The fourth-year guard capitalized, posting career bests in points (7.2), rebounds (4.3), and assists (1.8) while ranking second amongst WNBA guards in defensive WAR.

Head coach Stephanie White chalks up the progression to a productive offseason.

"Lexie came back a much more aggressive, assertive player from Unrivaled," White observed at Indiana's exit interviews.

Along with teammates Aliyah Boston and NaLyssa Smith, Hull participated in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, a domestic three-on-three women's basketball league founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. While she'd finish with the fourth-worst scoring rate out of the league's 39 players, the long-term benefits were undeniable.

A more confident Hull seized a larger role in the offense, one that would only expand amidst injuries in the backcourt to Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and Aari McDonald. With a capable three-point stroke and a relentless motor, Hull became a critical part of the recipe for Indiana's success.

To that point, she proved indispensable during the Fever's stunning postseason run, starting all eight contests and averaging 10.3 points despite an ailing back as Indiana came within a win of the WNBA Finals.

"She's just a hard player to take off the floor because of how hard she plays, because of the fact that she plays on both ends," acknowledged White. "She's not just an energy player, she's a toughness player. She does all of those things that you can't teach."

Lexie Hull Found Confidence in Shot Despite Midseason Struggles

Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull shoots a three-pointer against the Seattle Storm
Jun 24, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10) shoots a three point shot against the Seattle Storm during the second half at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

With Hull, stats don't tell the full story.

Her 2024 shooting -- 44.1% from the field and a blistering 47.1% from deep -- was always going to be difficult to maintain, particularly as her volume climbed.

Yet the fourth-year guard picked up right where she left off, shooting 50% from three and 46.5% overall entering July. Colder times lay ahead, however, and Clark's third and final injury stint proved especially detrimental for Hull.

"Throughout the course of the season, she was defended differently," explained White. "She's defended differently when Sophie and Caitlin are on the floor, with AB and Kelsey [Mitchell], than she is when they're not playing. She probably went from six, seven on the scouting report to three, four."

In a season of peaks and valleys for the Fever, Hull's low point came immediately after the All-Star break. Over an eight-game stretch, the typically efficient guard shot just 18.8% from the field and 4-for-31 (12.9%) from three, accentuated by a season-worst outing against the Phoenix Mercury in which she went 1-11 from the field and 0-8 from distance.

Hull found her groove the very next game, notching 17 points on 5-9 shooting and a 4-6 clip from beyond the arc en route to a 22-point win over the Chicago Sky.

"I feel like her shot -- a lot of times a shot's just a mental thing," White posited.

With her shot falling once more, Hull carried momentum from the regular season into the playoffs, delivering a memorable dagger in a must-win Game 2 against the Atlanta Dream.

Even despite the midseason malaise, neither the confidence of player nor coach wavered.

"I'm never worried about her shot," White affirmed. "It always looks good, she always takes good shots. As someone who played the game, the most important thing is that she stayed confident in that and continued to take them."

Hull and Boston will return for the second season of Unrivaled while Mitchell joins a growing list of newcomers.

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Lou Orlando
LOU ORLANDO

Lou Orlando is a Fordham University alum, graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. At Rose Hill, he covered women's basketball for the university newspaper, the Fordham Ram. In addition to calling games on 90.7 FM. The Brooklyn native enjoys bagels and thinking about random early-2010s athletes, that is when he isn't penning stories for Women's Fastbreak and Indiana Fever On SI.

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