Definitely worse from wear. Lexie Hull had a black eye injury, which was all over the headlines last week. Plenty of angles and takes have already dissected the incident, but Sophie Cunningham has something to add to the discussion.
As one of the players who had been vocal about this issue from the start, Cunningham has been quite frustrated with the officiating in the WNBA. She, among others, felt the excessive physicality being allowed to play a part in the game. And Kayla McBride’s foul on Lexie Hull was one of the bullet points.
But the black eye on Lexie Hull didn’t come out until the next game in which Cunningham said:
“Her [Hull] and Gabby [Williams], which Gabby’s awesome, she’s like one of my good friends, she did not mean to. But her and Lexi, on accident, nailed each other, and then that’s were Lex immediately had like a huge knot.”
Undoubtedly, close friends would provide updates, and Lexie Hull gave Sophie one that she won’t forget anytime soon. Cunningham described it:
“She looked like an Avatar. She sent me a picture and I like, FaceTimed her immediately, I was like dude, are you okay? There’s like no way you’re concussed.”
And while the officiating, the physicality, the excessive push and pulls, and bumps that make you think of the WWE, the dark spots in Lexie Hull’s eyes weren’t triggered by the foul. The ladies continue to fight further, both on the court to win points and against the norms that the league still fails to address.
Lexie Hull is the Last Resort
Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Chloe Bibby, Sydney Colson, and Aari McDonald. Names that should be starring on the roster sheet at the start of the game now serve as the casualty list for the Indiana Fevers this season. And it’s now down to Lexie Hull as the elite player to carry the team that these injured ladies left behind.
Lexie Hull must muster all her remaining strength and luck to keep the Fever from falling through the cracks in these last handful of games in the WNBA regular season. The Fever still has a fraction of a chance to make the cut, but the margin of error is closing down on them too quickly.
The, at one point, star-studded team is now down to their remaining digits coming into the final curtains of the regular season. And whether a playoffs is still in the books, that’s up to Lexie Hull and what remains.
