The Indiana Fever sent shockwaves through the WNBA draft with the No. 6 overall pick, selecting Lexie Hull out of Stanford.

While there hadn’t been a consensus pick at No. 6, many draft prognosticators did not have Hull going in the first round.

Hull was a major piece of the Cardinal for the last four seasons, helping lead Stanford to one national championship, two Final Fours, two Pac-12 regular season championships and three Pac-12 Tournament championships.

She had a great season from beyond the arc, making 38.6 percent of her attempts from 3-point range and pulling down 5.4 rebounds per game.

It’s not the first time the Fever have made a surprise pick in the draft. Last year they selected Kysre Gondrezick with the fourth overall pick in 2021. Gondrezick was later waived by the team and has since been picked up by the Chicago Sky.

Stanford is headed back to the Final Four, with the No. 1 seed and reigning national champion securing a 59-50 win over the No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns.

It was a rematch between the two teams following a November contest in which the Longhorns spoiled Stanford’s ring night celebration of last season’s title. In that game, a fourth-quarter comeback led Texas to a 61-56 win.

A similar story played out Sunday night, as the Cardinal took a five-point lead into the fourth. Texas cut the lead down to two before Lexie Hull was fouled and converted the three-point play. Stanford never looked back.

“It was a big play, no doubt about it,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said.

This marks the second straight year that the Longhorns have been eliminated in the Elite Eight.

Lexie Hull had 20 points for the Cardinal while sister Lacie contributed five rebounds and four assists. Afterward, Lexie Hull called it a “gritty” win.

“I’m just super proud of our team for staying with it, sticking with each other and being gritty,” Hull said. “I think it really comes down to who was the grittier team.”

Playing in their hometown of Spokane, the Hull sisters were the last to cut down the nets in the postgame celebration.

“I just remember after the game looking out and in pretty much every section of the gym, I knew somebody,” Lexie Hull continued. “It was super special. Tara told us at the end of our game in Spokane that if we [won in] Spokane, Lacie and I would get the nets. So we were really excited to have that opportunity tonight and really felt the love and support from everyone.”

As part of a full team effort by the Cardinal, Haley Jones added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double. Cameron Brink scored 10 points in the third quarter after sitting most of the first half in foul trouble. Francesca Belibi contributed 11 rebounds before fouling out.

Joanne Allen-Taylor had 15 points for Texas before fouling out. Rori Harmon added 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Turnovers were an issue for Stanford. The Cardinal gave the ball away 20 times, including 11 in the second half. But the Longhorns didn’t capitalize, scoring just 15 points off the turnovers. Texas also struggled with free throws, making just 11 of 20.

“When you’re going to play in these games, y’all, you’ve got to make free throws, and we’ve done that until today,” Schaefer said.

Following the win, the Cardinal danced in celebration.

“I think it just loosened people up and showed them that I had confidence in them,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “And they know I can’t dance so they’re watching me and laughing, so it was all good.”

Stanford took down Kansas 91-65 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday behind a career-high performance from senior Lexie Hull.

The defending NCAA champions have now won 22-straight games en route to the Sweet 16.

Ahead by just two points at the half, the Cardinal came out swinging in the third quarter, outscoring the Jayhawks 32-15. They extended their lead in the fourth, scoring 26 points to Kansas’ 19. Stanford’s largest lead was 34 points with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Hull, a prospect in the upcoming WNBA Draft, scored 36 points on six 3-pointers and added six rebounds and six steals. It was the highest-scoring performance by a Stanford player in the NCAA Tournament since Nneka Ogwumike had 39 against South Carolina in the 2012 Sweet 16.

“Lexie put our team on her back and just said, ‘We’re going to Spokane. I’m going to do whatever I need to do.’ And she did,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said of Hull, who was playing in her last game at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.

“I think it’s just I really wanted it,” Hull said of her performance. “In the back of my head I was like, ‘All right, I want to play in Spokane. My entire body wants to play in Spokane.’ Just our team, we really kept the ball moving, found the hot hand and ran with it the rest of the game.”

Sophomore forward Cameron Brink added 13 points and 12 rebounds. Hannah Jump had nine points to lead the Cardinal bench, which combined for 25 points total. Overall, Stanford shot 56.7 percent to Kansas’ 44.8 percent.

Zakiyah Franklin led Kansas with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Ioanna Chatzileonti was the only other Jayhawks player in double digits, with 11 points.

“They were incredible in the third quarter. Lexie just went into takeover mode,” Kansas coach Brandon Schneider said. “As elite an offensive performance as I’ve witnessed in person, in the manner in which she scored in every way possible.”