{"id":832716,"date":"2026-05-30T16:37:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T16:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/832716\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T16:37:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T16:37:25","slug":"lexie-hull-brings-smiles-to-indiana-fever-with-elite-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/832716\/","title":{"rendered":"Lexie Hull brings smiles to Indiana Fever with elite defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 It was May 20, and the Indiana Fever were hosting the Portland Fire. There were just over three minutes to go in the third quarter. The Fever were up by 19 points and defending against a set play as the Fire tried to get guard Carla Leite<\/a> open with a screen at the top of the key.<\/p>\n

For a moment, Leite saw an opening to cut to the rim, her defender stuck behind the pick. Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker<\/a> attempted to pass Leite the ball. To that point, Portland had run its action as planned and read the defense well.<\/p>\n

There was one problem for the Fire, though. Fever wing Lexie Hull<\/a> also read the play, and she did it faster. Helping off of her matchup under the rim, Hull stepped up before Barker\u2019s pass was completed. She absorbed contact from the cutting Leite and drew an offensive foul, forcing a turnover.<\/p>\n

Mere feet away, the Fever bench loved Hull\u2019s effort. Head coach Stephanie White<\/a> pumped her fist and let out a roar. Assistant coaches Austin Kelly, Karima Christmas-Kelly<\/a> and Briann January<\/a> all stood to cheer. So did Hull\u2019s teammates Justine Pissott<\/a> and Myisha Hines-Allen<\/a>. Veteran guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough<\/a> was the most animated of all, mimicking the referees\u2019 hand signal that the ball was going the other way.<\/p>\n

It was just one play. There are hundreds in any WNBA game. But it showed the defensive value Hull has for the Fever and the contagious nature of her capabilities on the less glamorous end of the floor. Her entire team fed off of that moment.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Hull popped up off the court after taking the charge and beamed thanks to the reactions from the bench. Teammates Tyasha Harris<\/a> and Aliyah Boston<\/a> greeted her and matched her smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just feels good when we\u2019re in the right spot at the right time,\u201d Hull said postgame about that play, still smiling. \u201cIt\u2019s also so exciting because I know those are the things that get us fired up. Those are the little things that turn momentum, keep momentum going. And just to be able to take a charge and then look at the bench and see them so excited, that gets all of us going. So it\u2019s fun. Those are the fun moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t even the first offensive foul Hull had drawn in the game \u2014 she\u2019d drawn another just before halftime while chasing her player through a maze of screens. Now in her fifth pro season, Hull has never shied away from those moments. In some games, those defensive plays carry more weight, and pain, than in others.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s one of the toughest players I\u2019ve ever been around,\u201d White said of that play and what it says about Hull. \u201cShe\u2019s tough. She plays her butt off. She makes the right plays on the defensive end of the floor. She relishes doing those things that energize our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

White likened the Stanford product to the Energizer Bunny. That\u2019s something every team needs, but particularly a Fever group whose ceiling will be defined by its defense<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hull does her part and then some on that end of the floor. According to Help the Helper<\/a>, the Fever\u2019s defense is 7.7 points per 100 possessions better with Hull on the court than when she\u2019s on the bench. That ranks in the 70th percentile leaguewide. It\u2019s also a major reason why the Fever are 17.5 points per 100 possessions better overall when she\u2019s on the court than when she\u2019s off. That\u2019s the biggest difference for any player on Indiana\u2019s roster.<\/p>\n

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Her defense is also why Hull moved into the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the team\u2019s first three games. The Fever conceded more than 100 points twice in their opening trio of games, then White put Hull in the opening five. Since then, the Fever have yet to allow more than 90 points in a game and are 3-1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to give a different look defensively,\u201d White said of that lineup change, also noting that guard Sophie Cunningham<\/a> provided some necessary offensive punch for the second unit.<\/p>\n

\"LosIndiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (left) defends Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum during a game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 13, 2026. (Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea | Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

This is nothing new for Hull. Even before Indiana drafted her sixth overall in 2022, her defense has been praised. But right now, it\u2019s perhaps more important than it has ever been given how often the Fever have struggled to get stops this season.<\/p>\n

Coaches at every stop have helped her improve, but the defensive willpower largely comes from within.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just something I\u2019ve taken personally. It\u2019s the foundation,\u201d she said before a Fever practice this week. \u201cFrom the first moment I stepped on the court, my coaches were always like, \u2018We\u2019re starting with defense.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Hull\u2019s dad was one of her coaches growing up, and he was one of many people who instilled a defensive focus into her game. In college, she led the Pac-12 in steals<\/a> in 2021-22. In the pros, she has transferred her skills into being more of an on-ball stopper and taking on tough assignments.<\/p>\n

Some of her defensive success comes from endless effort. Other parts of it come from Hull\u2019s preparation and technique, both of which have grown as she\u2019s learned how to study her opponents\u2019 tendencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you can kind of guess what [your matchup is] going to do, it makes your job a lot easier on that side [of the court]. So there\u2019s a lot of film watching, preparation, studying the game for sure,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Hull\u2019s willingness to take a hit often leaves her on the ground. While that can be beneficial for Indiana, it stresses star guard Caitlin Clark<\/a> out at times.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told her she needs to stop falling down so much. She\u2019s just constantly falling down. It stresses me out,\u201d Clark said. \u201cShe\u2019s got this cut on her leg, and it doesn\u2019t stop bleeding because she\u2019s always on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then Clark provided more serious analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s just tenacious. No matter who her matchup is, she\u2019s going to go after them. She\u2019s going to pick up full [court]. She\u2019s going to do the little things. And I think that\u2019s something you really appreciate,\u201d Clark said. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t care how [many] points she scores. She\u2019s out there to get deflections. She usually leads the team in deflections. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to get steals, she\u2019s going to guard their best player, she\u2019s going to rebound. \u2026 She\u2019s going to make an impact. She\u2019s always in our best lineups.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Howard Megdal\u2019s newest book is here! \u201cBecoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar\u201d captures both the historic nature of Clark\u2019s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.<\/p>\n

The ideal player to plant next to Clark in order to maximize lineups would be a strong defender and shooter. Hull has been both this season, drilling 47.4% of her 3-pointers<\/a> through seven games.<\/p>\n

The opening five of Clark, Kelsey Mitchell<\/a>, Hull, Monique Billings<\/a> and Boston have gotten off to some good starts together. In first quarters all season long, the Fever rank fifth<\/a> in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) and fourth in net rating (points scored minus points allowed per 100 possessions). In third quarters, the Fever lead the WNBA in each category.<\/p>\n

Clearly, that quintet works. And Hull is the one who connects those pieces.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe covers a lot of gaps,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

White recently spoke with one of Hull\u2019s college assistant coaches, and they asked White if she\u2019s ever had a bad day coaching Hull.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d White replied. \u201cBecause she just goes out and busts her butt every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Hull\u2019s eyes, there\u2019s more work to do. She wants to improve her defensive discipline. She feels like she lunges too often and sometimes helps when she doesn\u2019t need to. Like every aggressive defender, Hull also wants to reduce her fouls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m probably my worst critic,\u201d Hull said. \u201cI feel like there\u2019s still so much room to grow on that side of the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact that she carries a growth mentality is great news for the Indiana Fever. And if she keeps improving, they will certainly keep smiling.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INDIANAPOLIS \u2014 It was May 20, and the Indiana Fever were hosting the Portland Fire. There were just…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":832717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[49],"tags":[233,262,1495,234,1492,62,63443,341521,1490,67,132,68,232],"class_list":["post-832716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-caitlin-clark","tag-defense","tag-fever","tag-indiana-fever","tag-lexie-hull","tag-sports","tag-stanford","tag-starting-lineups","tag-stephanie-white","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wnba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116664510144786182","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}