Caitlin Clark is the biggest attraction in women’s basketball, selling out stadiums and drawing record television ratings wherever she goes, but that doesn’t mean she’s always the center of attention.
Sometimes even superstars can play the role of a fan.
Central Valley High graduate Lexie Hull performed brilliantly as a substitute for the Indiana Fever on Sunday, scoring 22 points in 21 minutes in the Indiana Fever’s 92-75 win over the Seattle Storm at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Hull’s family sat courtside to witness the career-high points achievement. On the field, Clark beamed as she watched her teammate reach her potential.
“To win in front of everybody is awesome, to win in front of my grandma who came all the way from Spokane … and in front of my sister (Lacie, another CV star player and teammate at Stanford) who came all the way from Austin, and having her on the sidelines was super cool too. Really a good feeling tonight,” Hull said.
After the game, Clark posted on X: “This is now a Lexie Hull fan account.”
Clark joked about the post while sitting next to Hull at the post-game press conference.
“So yeah, my account will be all about Lexie if you want to follow me,” Clark said after a stellar performance of her own with 23 points and nine assists, setting the rookie record for assists in a season. “I’m going to change the bio to Lexie Hull fan page.”
Clark and Hull appear to have become good friends in their first season together. The team’s social media posts show them joking with each other, and during the Olympic break the two attended a country music concert together.
That connection, as well as the one with the rest of the Fever, carried over onto the court. The team had 10 assists in the fourth quarter, with Hull hitting four of her 3-pointers as the Fever beat the Storm 33-17 to pull away.
“It’s really fun to watch Caitlin run in transition,” Hull said. “The ball can go anywhere and anyone can knock it down. Our offense is just so fluid… that’s something we’ve definitely improved this year.”
The Fever (13-15) have improved significantly from Hull’s first two seasons, in which the team finished last in the Eastern Conference both years, and Sunday’s win over the Storm (17-10) allowed them to match last year’s winning record with 12 games to go.
The Fever have also picked up steam after a sluggish 1-8 streak to start the season. Indiana is 12-7 since June 1 and climbed to seventh place in the league standings, giving them a solid playoff spot. The Fever have not been to the playoffs since 2016.
As for Hull, she had an inconsistent season with career lows in field goal percentage (26.7), 3-point percentage (18.6) and minutes played percentage (12.8), resulting in slightly worse numbers since last year.
However, Hull appears to have turned things around. She has increased her minutes played (20.9) over the last seven games and is making her shots count, making 17 of 38 attempts from the field (45%) and 10 of 22 three-pointers (45%).
“It’s been some tough games where I haven’t had those open (shots),” Hull said. “You just have to keep shooting and trust the work I’ve put in.”
