“I could think of 10 different stories”: Lexie Hull on Caitlin Clark’s locker room antics, Indiana Fever’s 2024 run and more (Exclusive)
As the founding member of the Lexie Hull fan club, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark doesn’t just praise her teammate during strong shooting streaks. Clark has also lifted her teammate during slumps.
“She’s always there to pick me up and tells me to keep shooting,” Hull told Sportskeeda. “I really value that relationship.”
That dynamic partly explains the Fever’s strong start to end the regular-season following their 1-8 start. That dynamic also partly explains Hull’s optimism in the Fever’s chances entering Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday following their 93-69 Game 1 loss.
Despite both Clark (11 points on 4-for-17 shooting) and Hull (five points on 1-for-4 clip) struggling with their marksmanship in Game 1, Hull has plenty of perspective on how both of them and the team itself have fought through adversity this season.
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Hull shared that perspective with Sportskeeda, including Clark’s support as a teammate, adapting to different roles and becoming the league’s best 3-point shooter.
Lexie Hull speaks on Caitlin Clark, Indiana’s 2024 season
What’s your takeaway from your Game 1 loss to Connecticut?
Lexie Hull:
“We obviously didn’t get the outcome that we wanted. I think coming out of that game, we know we can play a lot better on both sides of the floor. I think we just want to make sure that we’re competing for 40 minutes. I think the fourth quarter the other day really let us down. So we’re excited for our next chance to compete for 40.”
What will it take for the shots to improve as a team and including yourself?
Lexie Hull:
“I think we didn’t shoot our best. We all know that. That is letting that shooting night go and making sure that we all have the confidence that we’ve had throughout the season. We got good shots, but they just didn’t fall the other day. So it’s just about making sure that we’re getting those good ones and open looks and hopefully those will go down on Wednesday.”
What sparked the Fever’s turnaround after a 1-8 start, especially the performance after the Olympic break, that propelled the team into the playoffs?
Lexie Hull:
“It was about taking each day as it comes and not dwelling too much on the past and learning from the mistakes we made. I think we learned a lot from the start of the season. We’re just made sure that we didn’t let that define us. We came in each game competing, moving forward and learning from it. I think the start of the season really helped us prepare for moments like this. We didn’t play our best [in Game 1], but we’re excited and looking forward to the next day.”
“We are really proud of the growth that we’ve had as a group. We’re just really excited to head into the postseason and continue the momentum that we had toward the end of the year. I think this is a really special group, and am grateful to be a part of it.”
What’s been the key for you with adjusting to different roles – first as a healthy scratch, reserve and then starter?
Lexie Hull:
“Just making sure I was putting in the work and putting in the work every day. Trusting the process and knowing that some days look different than others. Some games, playing time will look different than others. I think that’s something that our team is really buying into. It’s about being ready for when your number is called. Pre-practice and post-practice, I was getting extra shots up. I was staying locked in and scouted. It’s easy not to be locked in when you’re not expected to play. But I think everyone on our team is locked into the schemes. When we do get into the game, we’re all ready to go and we’re all on the same page.”
I presume some of those things explain your improvement in shooting from 3 (from 21.7% last season to 47.1% this season). But what other things explain your strong shooting?
Lexie Hull:
“I think it’s really helpful when everyone on the team has confidence in each other. That helps all of us shoot well and perform well, knowing that we have 11 people and a coaching staff that is behind us, believes in us and has seen us put in the work. So when we do have the opportunity, we have the confidence from our teammates that it’s going to go in and that we’re going to do well.”
What did the mid-season Olympic pause do for you?
Lexie Hull:
“It was great to be able to take a break and get to know people off the court and let our bodies rest and be able to actually have practice time as a whole team and work on things that we really didn’t have a chance to do with our short training camp. Then when we’re playing game after game, we didn’t really have time to work on things that as a young team we really needed to work on.”
What was your reaction when Caitlin tweeted on her profile, “This is now a Lexie Hull fan account’?
Lexie Hull: (laughs)
“It was funny. She’s a great teammate and a great person. So I laughed when she told me that. I don’t go on Twitter. But when I saw that, I thought that was really nice. That shows the type of teammate that she is.”
In what ways have you felt her support on and off the court this season?
Lexie Hull:
“I think it really means the world to me. I’m someone that really values the relationships with my teammates. Being able to spend time with her off the court has been really great. On the court, she’s there when I miss a layup or miss a 3. She’s always there to pick me up and tells me to keep shooting. I really value that relationship.”
I saw you were quoted as saying that Caitlin “loves to stir up some trouble.” What are your favorite examples of that?
Lexie Hull: (laughs)
“It’s every day, to be honest. It’s just about every day there is something that she’s doing. She’s commenting. When things are silent, she’ll say something to get people going. It’s great. I could think of 10 different stories. But there is a new one every single day.”
You talked about an interesting theme on the team’s resiliency. But what do you take away from Caitlin specifically with how she’s leaned into her resiliency with managing the ups and downs of her rookie season, the expectations and the spotlight?
Lexie Hull:
“I think her maturity has really shown and has impressed me and a lot of us. When you come in as a rookie, it’s tough for anyone. But when you have someone like her with expectations that are higher than anyone else on the court, I can’t even imagine the pressure that she felt. I think it’s really amazing to see her stay the same throughout all of that. A bad shooting night or a good shooting night, she’s the same the next day. I’m just really impressed with how she’s been able to bounce back from tougher days and stay positive throughout the whole process.”
Back to you and your background. What did you learn the most playing for Tara VanDerveer at Stanford?
Lexie Hull:
“I think the first one being is that you can’t overprepare. At Stanford, we did so much scouting. We did so much work for every team that we played so that we were the most prepared in terms of Xs and Os. But then we were also preparing ourselves individually, whether that was shooting and recovery. Tara, I think, led the way in that regard. She was more prepared than anyone. I remember her saying she would have the scout video on 24 hours a day at home while she was at home watching whatever she was watching. She definitely studied up, and that trickled down to a lot of us. So I think that’s the biggest thing that I’ve taken away. Preparation definitely is the most important thing.”
How did you see the concept of ‘overpreparation’ play out during your first years in the WNBA?
Lexie Hull:
“I think that it helps me stay locked into the process and trusting that the preparation will come full circle and it will show itself at some point. There were times that it would’ve been easy to say, ‘I’ve tried and it hasn’t been working and I’ll be done.’ But I think that knowing the work shows. So it’s about staying true to the process and trusting that things will work out that the work will show eventually.”
Where does your buy-in come from adapting to roles and being willing to sacrifice?
Lexie Hull:
“The competitiveness. For me, more than anything, I want to win. If we’re winning and I’m a key part of the practice team, then that’s my role at that time. If we’re winning and it takes me performing really well and I’m actually on the court at that time and that’s what it takes for our team to win, then that’s what I’m there to do. I think making our team win is a priority. That helped me throughout the ups and downs of my career.”
Considering how great you, Caitlin and Kelsey [Mitchell] are as shooters, what are the shooting contests like in practice?
Lexie Hull:
“We really don’t too many contests against each other. But we do play games at the end where there’s a group of five of us that try to make five in a row from seven spots. That’s been our routine. So the five of us always know where to go after practice. One of the coaches will rebound. And we’ll be there until we finish. Some days, it’s really short. Some days, it’s a little longer. But we stay there together until we get it done. It’s just the routine. We know that’s how we finish. We know it’s exciting because we have each other’s back and we’ll cheer for each other. Some days, it is easier than others. But I think it’s the days where we aren’t making it. But when we finish, we think, ‘Ok, we made it. We did it. That’s okay. We’ll move on to the next day.’”
We’ve seen your TikTok videos and Erica Wheeler’s hilarious on-court moments. What are your favorite moments with that?
Lexie Hull:
“We just have a great time. I have been trying game-after-game. I put on her pre-game outfit in hope that she would put on mine. I’m hoping that we can get her in mine. But it’s a hard task. She’s extremely resistant to it. But we’re working on it. It’s a fun lighthearted pre-game routine.”
How do you all try to convince her?
Lexie Hull:
“I just ask really, really nicely and it doesn’t work most of the time (laughs). But we’ll see if I can bribe her with something [before Game 2].”
