‘I’m really fortunate.’ Spokane’s Lexie Hull eager for her third WNBA season, Olympics tryout

DALLAS – Things are starting to ramp up again for Lexie Hull.

The Central Valley High School product, 24, is playing in Athletes Unlimited, a four-week event where she’s competing against many of the same talent she’s seen during her first two seasons in the WNBA.

This is Hull’s second consecutive year playing AU in Dallas. This time around, however, she’s serving as one of four team captains for the first week.

“Yeah, it’s great to be back. It’s super fun,” Hull said. “There’s a special group of people here. It’s great to reconnect. Basketball-wise, there’s great competition, so it’s going to be a great opportunity to get some game reps before the ‘W’ season starts again. As far as being a captain, it’s a different responsibility, more things to think about but super exciting.”

Hull isn’t the only Spokane product participating in AU. Briann January, a Lewis and Clark High product and 2023 inductee into the Hooptown Hall of Fame who just finished her first year as a WNBA assistant with Connecticut, is one of four facilitators (or coaches) for this year’s event.

“It’s great (seeing her here),” Hull said. “Growing up in Spokane, it’s a big basketball city. She’s a legend. Played for the same AAU program years before me but still super crazy that our paths are crossing right now in Dallas. Excited to see her as a facilitator and hopefully can play for her one of these weeks.”

Whenever January sees her fellow local product on the floor, it makes her smile.

“I see Spokane. I’m incredibly proud when I see her play because she represents our hometown very well,” January said of Hull. “She’s a hard worker. She keeps improving every year and gets it done on both ends of the court. I love seeing it.”

Last fall, Hull was part of the Team USA contingent that captured gold in 3-on-3 at the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago, Chile, an experience which was her first time living in the athlete’s village with her fellow Team USA representatives.

“Yeah, every time you have a chance to represent the USA, it’s super special,” Hull said. “And getting to play in the Pan-American Games was also a really cool opportunity.

“First time playing in a USA event where there’s other USA athletes there. To get to meet other people, watch other sports and cheer on the U.S. in different sports was a really cool experience. For 3-on-3, the team changes every time you play, so getting to play with the three girls in that tournament was cool just getting to know them, learning their games. Hopefully, get to see them in the 3-on-3 training camp for the Olympics coming up soon.”

Along with China and host nation France, the U.S. is one of three teams qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris between July 26 and Aug. 11. This spring, Team USA coaches will pick the players who will head to Paris, a group Hull has a strong chance of joining.

“Yeah, I’m in the running, so hopefully that camp goes well and they’ll choose the team from there,” she said. “Really exciting.”

Hull admits that playing in Hoopfest gave her a taste of what to expect in a high-profile 3-on-3 event like at the Pan-Am Games in 2023 and perhaps her first Olympics later this year.

“I think Hoopfest being the biggest 3-on-3 tournament in the world, it just put 3-on-3 on the map in my head,” Hull said. “Hoopfest 3-on-3 and FIBA 3-on-3’s a little bit different, but I definitely think that it helped (me) figure out what actions work, how physical it is, and the whole concept of playing outside. That’s a big change, so Hoopfest definitely helped with that.”

AU is also a great way for Hull and her WNBA colleagues to continue preparing for the regular season, which begins in May. Hull has two years under her belt with the Indiana Fever, who had a new coach in 2023 in Christie Sides, and Hull feels good about where her career is heading.

“I’m really fortunate I’m still playing and still on a roster. That’s the biggest challenge in the ‘W,’ is figuring out a way to stick,” she said. “Really excited for my growth as player and every year, I’m just getting better and more confident. Getting to play for Christie (Sides) and the Fever organization, I feel like they truly believe in me, which makes me feel I can go out there and be my best, get better every game and every season. Really excited I’m still playing and get to play basketball for my career, an opportunity I didn’t think was going to be possible say five years ago.”

In January, she joined her former Stanford players in taking notice as Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer got career win number 1,203, making her the winningest head coach, male or female, in college basketball history, a milestone which didn’t surprise Hull or anyone else when her former coach attained it.

“No, we all knew it was coming and I knew as competitive as she is, she wasn’t going to stop until she got it,” Hull said. “Super happy for her and honored to be part of that journey with her, and just to keep seeing her add to that record and add to her wins, just really lucky to know her and to have played for her.”

One big plus of returning to AU in Dallas is that twin sister Lacie, her teammate in Spokane and in Stanford, is just three hours down the road in Austin, which means she’ll again get to see Lexie play in person in a rather unique setting. And yes, she still misses sharing the court with her twin, something she’d like to do again in the future.

“She’ll come up a couple times. My parents are planning to come out, should be a fun family reunion here one of these weeks,” Hull said. “I miss it (playing with Lacie). I miss it a lot. There’s a pair of sisters here, Dorian and Isabelle Harrison. I joked with Lacie the other day, next year you should just come out of retirement and play for AU, it’d be so fun. Maybe. We’ll see, but I definitely miss it and would look forward to playing with her in some aspect again.”

Hull admits that like the rest of the basketball world, she has enjoyed seeing Iowa’s Caitlin Clark take the hoops and sports world by storm with her seemingly endless list of accomplishments which have helped raise the stature of the women’s game.

“It’s huge,” Hull said. “She’s a household name in a lot of homes across the country and a lot of homes that probably haven’t really talked about basketball before, especially women’s basketball. … She’s bringing a lot of exposure to the sport and it’s exciting to see it grow. You see the attendance just break records whenever she shows up in different arenas. Excited to see now if she decides to go to the league, where she ends up and what that looks like for the ‘W’.”

Stephen Hunt is a freelance writer based in Frisco, Texas.