INDIANAPOLIS — Lexie Hull was smiling from ear-to-ear as she lifted herself off the floor, her Indiana Fever teammates on the bench and the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd of 14,010 all roaring in unison around her. It was the sort of reaction you’d see from a player following a big shot or key defensive stop. But Hull’s reaction was elicited from drawing a second offensive foul against the Portland Fire during the Fever’s 90-73 win.
“It just feels good when we’re in the right spot at the right time,” Hull said. “And it’s 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 to be able to take a charge, then look at the bench and see them so excited, that gets all of us going. It’s fun. Those are the fun moments.”
Hull was a source of plenty of those “fun moments” amidst her 16-point, eight-rebound performance Wednesday night. She was flawless, in fact, finishing 4 for 4 from the field (all 3-pointers) and converting all four free-throw attempts.
Taking it a step further, Hull’s true shooting percentage — an advanced metric that measures a player’s efficiency at shooting the ball — was 138.89%, the second-highest in a 15-point game in WNBA history, according to Fever Stats.
The leader? Fever advanced scout and video coordinator Tully Bevilaqua, who posted a 144.56% in a 17-point effort vs. Connecticut on July 5, 2008.
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“It feels good to see the ball go through the net,” Hull said, smiling. “Getting more games under our belt, getting more comfortable, building that chemistry and knowing where those shots are coming from — that’s something we drill a lot in practice. We got a lot of the shots we wanted, a lot of the shots we walk through. So obviously, it feels good.”
The performance was vintage Lexie Hull, a welcome development from the fourth-year guard who has spent the past few weeks recovering from a hamstring injury.
She totaled 28 minutes and scored just one point between her first two games, then began showing signs of settling in vs. Washington (nine points on 3 of 6 shooting with two 3s in 26 minutes) and Seattle (nine points on 3 for 8 shooting in 19 minutes).
Hull looked strong and in rhythm Wednesday night, coach Stephanie White said, and she shot it with confidence.
“Recovering from injury takes time,” she continued. “I know everybody wants things to be right away, but slowly getting back into what game rhythm is like — it’s timing, it’s rhythm, it’s endurance, it’s all those things. … I’m thankful for Lexie that today she finally found her shot again.”
As for the couple offensive fouls No. 10 drew — and the reaction from her and her teammates, White smiled and said: “She’s one of the toughest players I’ve ever been around.”
“Lexie plays her butt off and makes the right plays on the defensive end,” she added. “She relishes doing those things that energize our team like taking charges and getting five-second calls, like she did tonight. That gives your team energy. Everybody has their role and Lexie’s like the Energizer Bunny for us.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘Energizer Bunny’ is back for Indiana Fever, and nearly found WNBA history in win vs Fire
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
