UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Lexie Hull’s desire to win was cultivated by someone who won more than anyone.

At Stanford, Hull played for one of the greatest coaches of all-time: Tara VanDerveer, who retired following the 2023-24 season as the all-time winningest coach in men’s or women’s college basketball history with 1,216 wins.

VanDerveer was all business, said Lexie's mom, Jaime. And she showed that clearly on a 2017 home visit to meet with Lexie and her twin sister, Lacie, during their recruiting process.

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With the Hull family having ample experience with home visits in the process, Jaime knew what to anticipate: talks about team camaraderie and success. Most coaches, Jaime said, talked about preseason team-bonding retreats. VanDerveer, though, was much more straightforward.

“I asked Tara VanDerveer, I was like, ‘So, what do you guys do in Stanford for like, team bonding, team camaraderie?’" Jaime said. "And she looked at me like I was crazy. She goes, ‘Well, we win. I think that's pretty fun.’”

That answer convinced Lexie and Lacie. They committed to Stanford and helped the Cardinal win the 2021 national championship. And VanDerveer’s innate desire to win stuck with Lexie, who will take on whatever role it takes — as long as her team is winning.

“Winning is fun,” Hull said this summer. “That gets everyone happy and excited going into the locker room.”

‘Trying to stay ready’

Change is consistent in the WNBA. Players (and coaches) come and go. And in Hull’s case, every season has been drastically different throughout her three years with the Indiana Fever.

Her rookie season, after she was picked at No. 6 in the 2022 draft, the Fever went 5-31 and had both Marianne Stanley and Carlos Knox act as head coaches. Her sophomore season was Christie Sides’ first as a head coach, ushering in an entirely new staff, system and culture.

Now, her third season saw Caitlin Clark come to town. The rookie point guard not only took control of the offense, reformatting it to an up-tempo style, but she also brought a lot of new fans.

In the beginning, Lexie wasn’t part of that offense. She went from starting 25 of 30 games in 2023 (missing 10 because of injury) to sitting on the bench to begin 2024. She didn’t even get time on the court in the Fever’s season-opener against Connecticut on May 14.

“Coming into this season, I think it was hard on her,” Jaime said. “Because it's not like you expect to start, but you also like, well — and then with the opening game, not even play like was just a huge hit to her.”

Lexie scarcely played at the beginning of the season, and it affected her confidence. But, Jaime said, Lexie is a type of person who is innately positive, no matter the situation, and she will outwork anyone in the gym.

She was a DNP — Coach’s Decision in five of the Fever’s first 13 games, but she knew her time would come, even if she had to sit at the beginning of the season. Everything was new with the Fever; they navigated a new point guard, a new type of offense and new expectations.

“This season has been so interesting,” Lexie said June 16. “Just trying to stay ready and do whatever is asked of me on each night and every night is different. So I think for me just I'm getting extra reps staying ready and whenever I get those minutes, I'm just trying to make the most out of them.”

That drive to get better, that extra effort eventually paid off. She entered the starting lineup against Connecticut on Aug. 28, and was a crucial part of Indiana’s only regular-season win against the Sun. Now, she’s genuine member of the starting lineup, joining Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith.

“Trusting the process, taking it day by day,” Hull said Sept. 3. “You never know what you’re going to get, season-through-season, game-by-game, so just staying ready and making sure I trust the work that I put in, so when I go out there, I can be confident.”

Building confidence

In late August, Lexie made her case for the starting lineup in a big way.

She had started getting consistent minutes in July, averaging around 20 minutes per game off the bench. Her calling card was her defense, frequently guarding the best opposing player.

“She wasn't getting the minutes at the start of the season, and just kept working,” Sides said. “Just kept working to do whatever our team needed. Lexie is just a great professional, showed up every day. And then all of her hard work just really paid off for her. And then she got some confidence and started hitting shots and just did exactly what we needed to do. She's always going to defend.”

Against Seattle on Aug. 28, though, she found her shot.

In front of her grandma and twin sister, who were sitting courtside while visiting from across the country, Lexie scored a career-high 22 points on 6-of-7 3-point shooting. Each 3 she made that day, the crowd got rowdier and rowdier — culminating in back-to-back fourth-quarter 3s that got fans out of their seats.

Those 22 points were pivotal in Indiana’s only win over Seattle this season. And Hull did it with some of her favorite people in attendance.

"First of all, to get a win in front of anyone, it's great," Lexie said following that game. "To win in front of my grandma, who came all the way here from Spokane … And my sister came from Austin, it's amazing. To have them courtside was super cool, too, so really good, really good feeling tonight."

It was just the beginning of a monumental turnaround for the Stanford star. She went from shooting 27.1% from 3-point range in 2023 to 47.1% this season, finishing the season second in WNBA 3-point shooting percentage.

In the 20 games she played in ahead of the month-long break, Lexie went 9-of-32 (28%) from 3. In her 14 games after the break, she's shooting 24-of-38 (63%). You don't need a Stanford degree to spot the difference.

“I think since the Olympic break, the way she's been able to shoot the ball has been incredible,” Fever rookie Caitlin Clark said. “... it's added a whole other dynamic for us. I think she's played really well on both sides of the floor, but what's most impressed me is just her approach every single day. It's really hard to go from somebody that gets no minutes to somebody who's in the starting lineup, and she's really exceeded when her role has changed and she's given an opportunity, so I'm really happy for her.”

‘Their support means the world to me’

Jaime and her husband, Jason, send Lexie a good luck text ahead of every game. It’s a tradition that dates back to her time at Stanford, culminating in what has been hundreds of game day messages over the years.

At some point, the texts become a bit of a superstition. It’s part of Lexie’s game day routine, which also includes a nap between shootaround and game time.

“Sometimes it's a quote, sometimes it's just a game day and have fun. ‘You play better when you have that smile, when you look like you're having fun like things seem to fall in place,'” Jaime said. “And a lot of times, like, the last one was like, ‘Be smart. Don't gamble, or get in foul trouble. Shoot your shot, just have fun.’”

Those texts were a lot more generic at the beginning of the season when Lexie wasn’t getting as many minutes. They were more of encouragement that her time will come, and that she will make the most of whatever time she’s getting on the court.

Now, with Lexie back in the lineup, they’ve livened up again.

“Part of my pregame routine is I always text my mom and dad, pregame and postgame,” Hull said earlier this month. “They’re just a lot more excited to text postgame these days. Their support really means the world to me.”

The Hull family is extremely close, even as they’re scattered across the country — Jaime and Jason still live in Spokane, while Lacie lives in Austin and Lexie is in Indianapolis.

Jaime said they try to make as many Fever games they can, but it varies year-to-year. At the very least, they go to the Fever-Storm games in Seattle (a four-hour drive from Spokane) and try to travel for some of their West Coast games in Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The trips could get more frequent in the coming years, too, with Golden State and Portland teams joining the league in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Jaime said they barely missed any of Lexie and Lacie’s games at Stanford — back when the Pac-12 still existed in its original form on the West Coast.

So, would Jaime want Lexie to come closer to home with these new West Coast WNBA teams in the mix? While it would be awesome to have her closer, Jaime said, she likes where Lexie is at now. Lexie has started setting down roots, buying a house in the area. Her boyfriend, former Stanford baseball player Will Matthiessen, has moved to Indianapolis, and the two have a dog together.

Indianapolis is a good fit, even if she is far from home.

“I like where she’s at now,” Jaime said. “... Things can change (because of trades or cuts), and if she were to be on the West Coast, awesome. But that's not what I want for her at this point. I think that things are going well, let's keep it rolling.”

Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Lexie Hull a key piece to Indiana Fever starting lineup, 3-and-D