Have you ever heard of the phrase “Tres Leches?” If you’re an Indiana fan, you definitely have by now. It literally means “Three Milks” in Spanish. Well, the internet has hilariously adopted it to describe the trio of Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull, and Sophie Cunningham. Even the stars ran with it wearing a shirt to the game with “Tres Leches” printed on it. Indeed, these three have been bonding big time, having fun with trends, and playfully roasting each other. Even sometimes….a little too brutally.

Recently, Cunningham shared a TikTok video of her and Hull chilling poolside in matching bikinis as she captioned it, “We are off to our game tonight. Convince us there’s a swimsuit brand that wants to partner with two Indiana Fever mermaids.”  Not one to miss out, even though Clark has been sidelined with a groin injury for weeks, she popped into the comment section and joked, “Swimsuit brands plz comment ‘focus on basketball.’”

Now, while it was all fun and everyone took it lightly, given Hull’s recent stats, the joke was pretty spot on. Hull didn’t respond in that comment section, though. Cunningham replied to Clark’s comment with another playful jab.  But… Lexie surely did answer back vs Chicago when her team was down to just nine players and needed her most.

As the announcers said, she had the chance to be the “X factor,” and she definitely did her thing, scoring 17 points, including four three-pointers, and 5-of-9 shooting, breaking her streak of single-digit games that had lasted 17 contests.

It was a total contrast from her last outing vs mercury where she managed just 2 points on 1-of-11 shooting, including a season-worst 0-for-8 from beyond the arc. Hull posted a career-worst -25 plus-minus in 26 minutes, marking the latest in a tough stretch of games for the fourth-year guard. And not just one game, she was going through the worst three-game stretch of her WNBA career.

In those contests before facing the Sky, she totaled just 2 points on a dismal 5.9% shooting from the field (1-of-17), including a career-worst 0-for-12 from three-point range. Looking at her last 10 games, Hull is averaging only 3.5 points per game with a 22.4% field goal percentage and 16.7% from three.  Despite all this, the Fever still showed faith in her, trusting Hull to start against the Sky and she didn’t disappoint at all.

In addition to finally breaking out of her slump, Lexie Hull also reached a milestone: 100 career steals. Indiana proudly posted the news, congratulating Hull on the achievement, proving once again why Stephanie White trusts her on both ends of the floor. While Hull is widely regarded as one of the team’s top three-point shooters, she has also made a strong impact defensively. In her fourth WNBA season, Hull is averaging 1.0 steal and 0.2 blocks per game. Despite offensive struggles, she’s still contributing solidly with averages of 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.

However, we can’t deny that Hull’s breakout might have come thanks to another guard who played out of position but still delivered.

Cunningham’s calm sparks Hull’s bounceback

Caitlin Clark sat out her 10th consecutive game with a persistent groin injury. Joining her on the sidelines were Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson, both ruled out for the season after suffering injuries in Thursday’s loss. With this, Indy was facing a guard-crisis. Still, despite these setbacks, the Indiana Fever faced the challenge head-on and demonstrated resilience.

“Yeah, I mean, emotional day with some of our players going down,” Lexie Hull said before the game. “Obviously, it’s going to be different out there, a different feel. People are going to be playing out of position. But at the end of the day, everyone’s bought in together and everyone’s all-in.” One key adjustment was Sophie Cunningham stepping into the point guard role for long stretches. Normally a wing, Cunningham took on the ball-handling duties in Clark’s continued absence.

Indiana allowed Kelsey Mitchell to focus mostly on her usual 2-guard role, while Cunningham brought the ball up the floor, showing comfort and control in her new role. Cunningham’s stat line reflected her solid performance: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, shooting 5-for-10 from the field, 3-for-6 from three, and a perfect from the free-throw line. More importantly, her steady leadership on the court helped lift the team.

With Cunningham’s calm presence, Lexie Hull was able to break out of her recent slump as team pulled away to a convincing 92-70 victory over the Chicago Sky.  “Do whatever it takes,” Hull said before the game. And that’s exactly what Indiana did.