Why Stephanie White never lost faith in Lexie Hull during Fever shooting slump originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Lexie Hull’s place in the Indiana Fever starting lineup was not dependent on whether her shots were falling. That was the message from coach Stephanie White after Hull broke out of a prolonged offensive slump during Indiana’s 113-90 victory over the Chicago Sky.
Hull scored 14 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting, made two 3-pointers and added two rebounds in 26 minutes. It was her first double-digit scoring performance since July 9 against the Phoenix Mercury.
The breakthrough came after a difficult stretch in which Hull recorded four scoreless games despite continuing to start for one of the WNBA’s top teams. White acknowledged that the slump affected Hull, but it did not change how the guard approached her responsibilities.
“Certainly was struggling with confidence, but you could never tell in the way that she shows up,” White said Wednesday. “She’s always going to show up. She’s always going to stay ready.”
Hull’s value goes beyond her scoring averageHull is averaging 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 19 minutes per game. Those numbers do not immediately explain why she has started 36 consecutive games after coming off the bench in Indiana’s first three contests.
Her defense does.
At 6-foot-1, Hull has the size and versatility to take difficult perimeter assignments. That allows Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell to conserve more energy for an offense built heavily around their scoring and playmaking. White said Hull remained a starter because she continued to help the Fever win, not because the coaching staff wanted to boost her confidence.
“It’s because she impacts us winning, especially on the defensive end of the floor,” White said.
That distinction matters.
Coaches often face pressure to make changes when a starter stops producing offensively. White instead considered how Hull fit within Indiana’s most effective combinations and how a lineup change might affect the bench.
“We look at all the analytics just as much as who’s making shots,” White said. “It’s also important to have punch off the bench and make sure you get production off the bench.”
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Hull’s response rewarded White’s patienceHull’s performance against Chicago showed what Indiana’s starting lineup can become when she provides offense in addition to her usual defensive work. Clark scored 37 points and Mitchell added 30, giving the Fever 67 points from their star backcourt. Hull did not need to become a third high-volume scorer. She only needed to punish a defense devoting most of its attention to Indiana’s two biggest weapons.
She did exactly that.
Hull made six of her eight shots after going more than a month without reaching double figures. Her two 3-pointers helped Indiana stretch Chicago’s defense even thinner. The Fever will close their pre-break schedule Friday at home against the Connecticut Sun before the league pauses for three weeks because of the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
Hull’s shooting performance does not guarantee that her slump is completely over. It does, however, reinforce White’s reasoning for staying patient.
Even when Hull was not scoring, she remained valuable. When the shots finally returned, Indiana became that much more dangerous.
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