With Caitlin Clark Out, Lexie Hull Becomes Pivotal for Indiana Fever

The Indiana Fever are facing a serious problem. On Monday, it was revealed that star guard Caitlin Clark will miss at least a couple of weeks with a quad injury--forcing the Fever to adapt without their star player. But that means former Stanford women's basketball standout, Lexie Hull, will see her role grow.

Through four games this season, Hull is averaging a career best of 10.1 points per game. While she is currently fifth on the Fever in scoring, she has shown that she has improved exponentially compared to her first three seasons. Largely coming off the bench as the Fever's sixth player, Hull has provided much needed depth for the up-and-coming Fever.

But now that Clark is out, Hull will most likely be slotted into the starting lineup. Kelsey Mitchell is expected to assume Clark's role while she is out, but that means that Hull will need to slot into the other guard spot and be much more of a facilitator than she already is. A trusted veteran on a younger Fever team, Hull will need to be more of a leader while Clark is sidelined.

So far, the Fever are 2-2 but both of their losses were by a combined three points. And in both of those losses, Clark led the way in assists. While Hull is only averaging one assist per game, she is a very good passer and with more minutes coming her way, she will need to distribute the ball well--especially with the schedule expected to get harder as the season progresses.

But one thing that could be a major factor in Hull's improved play this season was playing for Unrivaled over the offseason. A member of Rose BC, along with WNBA stars Angel Reese, Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper among others, Hull got the opportunity to play against and alongside the league's best players, giving her the opportunity to hone her skills against players that she faces regularly in the W.

By getting to do that, Hull went into the WNBA season looking much more prepared. After only scoring 15 points combined in the first and second game this season, she has been heating up as of late, scoring 10 points in 27 minutes in an 81-76 win over Atlanta on May 22 and 15 points in the Fever's most recent game, a 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty in her first start of the season.

The last two games have shown that when needed, Hull can get the job done. The sixth overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, the Fever invested a lot in Hull and have held out hope since she entered the league that she will be a future superstar.

And while she has not fully reached superstar status, Clark being injured could be the perfect opportunity for Hull to really prove her value in this league. She will begin that mission on May 28 when the Fever take on the Washington Mystics in their first game without Clark.