Lexie

Hull

Howard did a little bit of everything for the Fever on Tuesday night. She scored moving off the ball while getting on the offensive glass and and play making. Howard completed the Fever’s second most assists with five, second to Odyssey Sims who finished the game with five. She found Lexie Hull for three scores in addition two more assists going to Aliyah Boston and Shey Peddy. Howard scored two of her most important shots in the fourth and overtime periods as her willingness to roll and move in space helped the Fever keep pace with the Aces for most of the game.

Hull impressed for a second-straight game, providing the Fever with impactful play on both ends of the floor. The do-it-all guard made her usual contributions from beyond the arc on Friday, and crashed the offensive glass hard to extend several plays and ignite the home crowd. She was everywhere on the defensive end, whether as an on-ball defender or as a helper, leading her to finish with three stocks on the evening. Hull was dominant on the defensive glass, as well, and led the Fever in total rebounds before a couple of late fouls led her to foul out of Friday’s contest. The Fever will lean on her for more two-way impact in Sunday’s Game 4.

Hull was ruled questionable prior to tipoff due to a back injury, but she played anyway and had her best game so far this postseason. She hit five three-pointers mostly off of plays where the Aces were congesting the Fever’s driving lanes. A lot of her looks were wide open and she made over 45% of them. Hull also played really physical defense on Jackie Young which made her uncomfortable and then in foul trouble between being guarded by Hull and having to primarily guard Kelsey Mitchell.

Young scored the majority of her points in the second quarter once the Fever defense cracked down on A’ja Wilson after she scored 11 points in the first. Almost all of Young’s field goals were assisted as she moved well off the ball and was found cutting and on kick-out three-pointers by primary ball handlers Chelsea Gray and Dana Evans. Young battled all night being guarded by Lexie Hull who while she was dealing with a back injury still made it rather difficult for Young to get free and play her game.

Hull did her best to prevent the Fever from earning a second straight loss, but her high-springing, hot-shooting display wasn’t enough on Tuesday. She finished as one of Indiana’s top scorers and tallied her first double-digit scoring performance since August 22nd. Hull has seen her role shift several times throughout this season as the Fever have dealt with injuries. But with their postseason chances still alive, the Fever will likely count on her to consistently produce down the home stretch of the season.

While Boston began the game quiet on the scoring front, she picked up her energy and aggression in the second quarter hitting a trio of assisted jumpers, two from the mid-range and one 25-foot three-pointer with under two minutes left in the first half. Boston had her most impactful quarter in the third when she scored 10 of her points on an efficient 4-for-6 from the field. She took advantage of whenever the Storm were playing rookie Dominique Malonga at the center position. She scored on Malonga mostly with ease. Boston had three assists on Tuesday night, finding Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull on back-cuts. While she was one rebound shy of her 16th double-double of the season, Boston did record her 1,000 career rebound. Now at 1,003 career rebounds, Boston has the fourth-most boards in Fever history.

Boston was quite passive in the first half for the Fever only scoring 3 points on one shot attempt and a trip to the line. She had her most aggressive offensive quarter in the fourth where Boston scored 8 of her total 15 points. She had four scores right at the rim off a shovel pass and then a roll to the basket from Kelsey Mitchell, in addition to a post entry pass from Lexie Hull and a face-up layup that Boston created herself. She helped the Fever go on a 12-4 run during the final four minutes left in regulation, but in the end it wasn’t enough.

Hull had a career night for the Fever on Friday. Alongside Kelsey Mitchell, she carried the Fever scoring the basketball in the first half. She scored 18 of her total 23 points in the first two quarters on a trio of open three-pointers which included a step-back, a couple of turnaround fadeaways in the paint and a score on a backdoor cut off the ball. Especially in the first half, Hull took advantage of the smaller and less skilled defender Courtney Williams. But once Williams was sitting for the majority of the second half, Hull got less open looks.

With a depleted Fever roster, Mitchell carried the Fever’s scoring load once against the Lynx. For the second straight game, Mitchell attempted over 20 shots. Throughout the game she reached the rim at will but didn’t always finish and got almost all wide open looks from three off of great screens set by Aliyah Boston. Mitchell shot 71.4% from three on Friday night, her highest clip from three of the season since June 24. In addition to her made five threes on Friday night, she also had five assists. She dished to Lexie Hull and recent addition Shey Peddy for three-pointers and then found Natasha Howard and Aliyah Boston for field goals at the rim.

Cunningham injured her right knee during Sunday’s win over the Sun, as her leg was fallen into by Sun guard Bria Hartley. Lexie Hull started the second half and should retain that role for the remainder of the season. Also, the Fever signed Shey Peddy to a 7-day hardship contract while waiving Kyra Lambert in a corresponding move. Peddy can provide value as a perimeter defender as the Fever look to navigate their many personnel losses in the backcourt.