When Lexie Hull stepped onto the court for Game 2 of the semis, she was still feeling the stiffness, but her competitive fire wouldn’t let her back down. Logging 29 minutes and dropping 15 points, including five threes, she gave everything in Indy’s 90-68 loss. But make no mistake, she’s not done yet. Off to the side, with a heat therapy pad on her lower back, she watched Indiana’s 5-on-0 drills like a hawk, soaking in every move, ready to hit the floor for Game 3. But all the grit in the world won’t fix one glaring issue!

She still needs her teammates to step up, especially in the wake of her injuries. And at this point in the playoffs, her offensive and defensive presence with her well-being is essential for Indy. As White admitted before Game 3, “I think it’s tough the way we’re playing her (Hull). They really do keep four people in the paint, and so it’s tough to get her touches. I think she’s got to get out of screens a little faster. Maybe we can get some touches on the move.”

White also admitted the team needs sharper execution, noting, “We’re not great right now with recognizing and getting her the ball on time and target. There are three or four possessions a game where she’s got somebody beat, and we’re just taking one too many dribbles.”

Well, yes, we get it. Hull has been critical to Indiana’s success this season, especially since Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald, and Chloe Bibby are all sidelined for the season. She’s averaged 7.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists during the regular season, appearing in all 44 games. But this postseason, her numbers have increased with her role.

She’s now averaging 9.4 points per game, tying Natasha Howard as Indy’s fourth-leading scorer. So yes, she’s got the potential, but to capitalize, Indy has got to make some changes. Take Game 2, for example: Indy had 22 turnovers. These giveaways severely limit an offense’s ability to time reads or set up movement, and every extra dribble or delay becomes more costly. Also, shooting 41% shows that the precision of execution was lacking.

But as White said, the most affected among all is Hull, and it’s quite evident. During Game 1 at 3:19 in the first quarter, she missed a two-point shot—but it was after three seconds of AB getting a rebound that Hull got the pass. In the third quarter of the same game at 2:11, Natasha Howard got defensive rebounds, but Hull got the ball at 1:57, when she made a 23-foot jumper. So yes, there were mistakes, and a solution too, but can Indy execute?

Indy falls against Aces yet again!

Just as Indy had dominated Game 1, the Aces responded with a 90-68 rout in Game 2, and then 84-72 in Game 3. While Kelsey Mitchell led the game with 21 points and Hull followed up with 16, it wasn’t enough to grab a win. And even for Game 3, the issues were persistent.

The Aces dominated from the field, shooting 50.8% compared to Indy’s 35.6%. Even from beyond the arc, they were more efficient, despite Indy taking more three-point attempts, going 7-23 against the Aces’ 4-10. The real difference, however, came in the paint, where the Aces outscored Indy 48-34, turning inside dominance into a decisive edge.

Still, Indy showed some signs of progress. They controlled the boards better, grabbing 16 offensive and 23 defensive rebounds, and cut down on turnovers compared to Game 2. Their 15 giveaways only resulted in 12 points for the Aces, while the Aces’ 14 turnovers led to just 9 points for Indy, showing that the Fever were beginning to tighten things up.

But all this was known already, as White had shared after the Game 2 loss: “We’ve gotta be able to handle that. I mean, they’ve been world champions for a reason. They have a mentality that they know exactly how to compete at this stage and at this level. And we’ve gotta be able to respond and we’ve gotta be able to rise to that challenge.”

Indiana is now 2-1 in the best-of-five series. What do you think? Will the underdogs shine once again?