Fever rising: How Central Valley alum Lexie Hull went from Caitlin Clark sidekick to bona fide star

LAS VEGAS – Fans were out in full force, lining the rows closest to the court at T-Mobile Arena, donning Indiana Fever jerseys with hopes of getting a close-up view of warmups, and potentially an autograph, roughly 90 minutes before tipoff.

And we’re not talking about Caitlin Clark fanatics. No, these were Lexie Hull’s fans, a familiar scene from around the WNBA when the Fever is on the road, as the former Central Valley High star’s popularity continues to grow.

Sure, the offseason friendship with Clark helped increase Hull’s popularity, but it’s an allure the former Washington Gatorade Player of the Year has earned as one of the league’s top defenders and, this season, as a surprise 3-point threat for the one team everyone has under a microscope.

“One of the most selfless people I’ve ever been around,” Clark said before the Fever’s game against the Aces on June 22. “She’s going to do whatever she can to help this team win. And those are the type of people you really want in your locker room. So really thankful for her, and I think she’s had a tremendous year thus far.”

Hull went into Saturday’s 89-87 home loss to the Los Angeles Sparks ranked second with her 48.9% clip from 3-point range among players with a minimum of 20 3-point attempts. No other member of the Fever is shooting better than 40% from 3-point range, not even Clark, known for her logo 3s.

But it’s more than what she’s doing on the stat sheet and scoreboard.

For instance, in Thursday’s rematch against Las Vegas midway through the third quarter, Hull hit the floor, scrapped and secured the ball before finding Kelsey Mitchell in the corner for a 3-pointer.

Not too long after, with 3:54 left in the third, the 6-foot-1 guard snares a rebound while showing no fear in challenging Aces star A’ja Wilson.

Then, with 6:32 left in the game, again standing tall against the league’s reigning MVP, Hull takes a charge and flashes her trademark smile with momentum clearly flowing during Indiana’s 27-point annihilation of the visiting Aces.

“She’s like a plug-in play,” Indiana coach Stephanie White said. “You can utilize her with lots of different matchups on the floor, lots of different teammates and rotations on the floor. She’s improved in her ability to get to the rim. She’s a great off-ball cutter, so she’s not just a traditional 3 and D.

“Her versatility, especially defensively, allows us to utilize her in a lot of ways.”

Quite a year

What’s evolving into a career season for Hull started long before it tipped off in May, with a bevy of offseason situations bolstering her life in many ways since the calendar turn.

First, Hull joined some of the league’s best superstars in Miami and won the first-ever Unrivaled championship with Rose BC in March. The 3-on-3 league allowed Hull to not only sharpen an already established skill set on the defensive end, but also hone in on her offensive game that lacked punch in her first three seasons in the WNBA.

Through Saturday’s five-point performance against Los Angeles, all of Hull’s offensive numbers are up from previous seasons.

The 25-year-old also became engaged to longtime boyfriend Will Matthiessen, which she announced in an Instagram post in late April, something she’s been able to embrace and allow to uplift her mentally this season.

“I’m really happy,” Hull said during a 1-on-1 with The Spokesman-Review during the team’s stop in Las Vegas. “And to be able to have him be with me, living with me in Indy, and just kind of have that side of my personal life calm and exactly where I want it to be, it just makes the on-court stuff easier to just mentally handle.”

The cherry on top of her offseason was opening training camp with not just a new-look roster and a head coach who is tailored to her style of play, but Hull was ecstatic to join forces with fellow Spokane native Briann January, whom White brought with her from Connecticut.

Hull said she’s always been appreciative and thankful for the league and franchise’s growth, and she’s extremely grateful for the opportunity to be with the same franchise during the first four years of her career. But she and January share common ground in that they come from the same AAU system, the Spokane Stars, and were both coached by program co-founder Ron Adams.

In turn, January said she was just as ecstatic.

“Good Lord, I mean, she’s a pleasure,” January said to The Spokesman-Review after Indiana’s practice on the campus of UNLV. “Just shows up the right way every day, which I think is Spokane basketball. We show up and do it the right way. She works her butt off. Gives 110, 20, 30%, whatever – all of her every day.

“She steps on the floor and is a great teammate, is coachable, plays hard, plays physical, continues to learn, continues to get better, which I have loved seeing since we’ve been here. Sky’s the limit. She’s incredible.”

Just due

After years of playing in the shadows of others, Hull’s name is being mentioned by broadcasters more than ever before. She is a “key to the game” for the Fever more times than not these days, for those analyzing and previewing Indiana’s games.

It’s long overdue, but Hull is getting the recognition she deserves, hence the throngs of fans who want her autograph as much as they do Clark’s or Mitchell’s or Sophie Cunningham’s.

“She doesn’t always get a lot of credit, but she definitely deserves it,” Clark added. “Lex has been tremendous, and obviously, she’s a player that probably doesn’t get a ton of credit. And she’s not one to care at all. But I think the way she impacts the game for us, maybe early in her career, is especially on defense. And she was going to be an energy player. She was going to dive on the floor for loose balls, she was going to be aggressive.

“But I think over the course of these last couple years, she’s really begun to shoot the ball well. I think her offensive skill set has just continued to grow, which has just been really fun to watch.”

Clark said she isn’t surprised at the bond the two have forged, especially with the coaches they played for in college.

Clark played for Lisa Bluder at Iowa, while Hull won a national championship under legendary Tara Vanderveer, the winningest coach in the history of the sport.

“Tara and coach Bluder are also friends,” Clark said. “The way Tara and coach Bluder go about things is very similar. They’re going to hold you to the highest standard every single day. They expect you to go out there and compete and leave it all on the floor, and you’re going to be part of a culture that is way bigger than yourself.

“And I think you can certainly see that, especially when I first got to Indianapolis, that’s always been evident with Lex. It’s not about her, it’s about what she can do for this team.”

It’s a team Hull credits for embracing her and turning her into the player finally receiving the respect she warrants.

“I think we all deserve it, so just happy that we’re here and with this group, because I think at the end of the day, everyone’s excited for each other and happy for each other, and it’s easy to do that when you have great people on the floor,” Hull said. “We’re trying to keep basketball, basketball, and just doing whatever it takes on the court. And I think we all have each other’s backs, so whatever that looks like, that’s what you see.

“It’s good because we all care for each other, so we’re willing to do whatever it takes, work hard, put the effort out there, but also know that this is a game of basketball, and that’s what we’re here to do.”

W.G. Ramirez has been a Southern Nevada-based sports writer since 1987. He is freelance writer for several outlets, including the Associated Press. Follow Willie on X at @WillieGRamirez