Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White finally got a big scoring night from Lexie Hull on Sunday against the Chicago Sky.
Hull helped lead Indiana to a dominant 113-90 victory over Chicago with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, to go along with two rebounds, an assist and two triples in 26 minutes of action.
This was Hull’s first double-digit scoring game since July 9 against the Phoenix Mercury. Since then, she has had four games with zero points despite being the Fever’s starting shooting guard.
Coach White acknowledged Hull’s challenging situation of late, but she commended the veteran guard for not letting it affect her significantly.
“Yeah, that’s the thing about Lexie,” White said during Wednesday’s practice. “It’s an added bonus to have a player like her that just doesn’t get caught up in that.
“Certainly was struggling with confidence, but you could never tell in the way that she shows up. She’s always going to show up. She’s always going to stay ready.”
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When asked about her decision to keep Hull in the starting lineup despite her struggles, White doubled down on the 6-foot-1 guard’s importance to the squad.
“Yeah, it’s not to give her reassurance,” White said. “It’s because she impacts us winning, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
“We look at combinations of players that play together. We look at all the analytics just as much as who’s making shots. It’s also important to have punch off the bench and make sure you get production off the bench.
“So really balancing that out, that’s one of the toughest things that you have to do as a coach, constantly evaluating that.”
Hull is currently averaging 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per game. The former Stanford star did not start the first three games of the season, but has since started each of the last 36 games.
The Fever will be back in action on Friday for a home matchup against the Connecticut Sun. That will be their last game before the WNBA’s three-week FIBA Women’s World Cup break.
