The Indiana Fever hired Stephanie White as coach on Friday, putting her in charge of a team led by WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.

White spent the past two seasons as head coach of the Connecticut Sun before parting ways with the team earlier this week.

The former star at Purdue served on the Fever coaching staff from 2011-16, including as head coach for the final two of those seasons. The Fever won the WNBA title in 2012 with White on the staff.

White replaces Christie Sides, who led the Fever to a 20-20 record last season and the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2016. The organization announced it was moving on from Sides, who was the head coach for two seasons before being let go last Sunday.

Embiid closer to playing after practice

Joel Embiid and Paul George will each miss a fifth straight game with left knee injuries when the Philadelphia 76ers host Memphis on Saturday night.

The oft-injured Embiid has yet to play this season, though he was a full participant at Friday’s practice, including in 5-on-5 scrimmages with the team. George, who also has yet to play this season with a bone bruise on his left knee, also participated in the full practice and scrimmaged with the Sixers.

Embiid skipped the entire preseason and has not played any basketball that matters since he helped Team USA win gold in the Paris Olympics.

Orlando’s Banchero out with oblique injury

The Orlando Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero will miss the next several weeks with a torn right oblique, an injury that happened in his team’s loss to Chicago on Wednesday night.

The abdominal muscle injury was diagnosed Thursday, causing Banchero to miss the game Friday in Cleveland.

Banchero was off to a monster start — his 29 points per game ranked seventh in the league entering Friday. He’s one of only three players who started the day averaging that many points along with 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. The others: Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Snuggerud’s two goals lead U’s win over PSU

Jimmy Snuggerud scored two second-period goals and Nathan Airey made 21 saves for the Gophers in their 3-1 win over Penn State on Friday night at Mariucci Arena.

The Nittany Lions took a 1-0 lead when Reese Laubach scored late in the first period.

Snuggerud scored an even-strength goal assisted by Brody Lamb and Erik Pahlsson at 1:36 of the second period and added a power-play goal assisted by Sam Rinzel and Matthew Wood at 18:22 of the second.

The Gophers went 1 for 6 on power plays. They played with an advantage for 10:07 of the second.

Jimmy Clark scored an empty-net goal at 19:09.

Mlynkova scores two goals in U women’s win

The No. 3-ranked Gophers women’s team defeated Bemidji State 2-1 on Friday in Bemidji, Minn., for its third straight WCHA

Fifth-year forward Natalie Mlynkova scored two first-period goals for Minnesota (3-3-1, 7-3-1), and freshman goaltender Hannah Clark earned her third career win by recording 18 saves.

Sydney Morrow and Ava Lindsay assisted on Mlynkova’s first goal, which came on a power play, and Ella Huber and Abbey Murphy assisted on the second. It was Huber’s 99th career point.

Mariners’ Polanco becomes free agent

Second baseman Jorge Polanco’s $12 million option was declined Friday by the Seattle Mariners, who will pay a $750,000 buyout and allow him to become a free agent.

Polanco, 31, hit a career-low .213 with 16 homers and 45 RBIs this year. He was sidelined between May 26 and June 24 by a strained right hamstring.

The 2019 All-Star with the Twins agreed in February 2019 to a $25.75 million, five-year contract. The Twins exercised a $10.5 million option last November and traded him to the Mariners in January for pitchers Anthony DeSclafani and Justin Topa and minor league outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez and pitcher Darren Brown.

Baseball >> Zack Minasian and was promoted to general manager of the San Francisco Giants, joining the Los Angeles Angels’ Perry Minasian to make the brothers both big league GMs.

BASEBALL >> Left-hander Blake Snell has exercised his right to opt out of his contract with the San Francisco Giants to become a free agent for the second straight offseason.

Baseball >> Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins exercised his $18 million option for 2025 rather than take a $4 million buyout and again become a free agent.

Hockey >> The Professional Women’s Hockey League’s New York Sirens have signed No. 1 pick Sarah Fillier to a one-year contract. The team announced the deal Friday, nearly four months after taking the Canadian national team and Princeton University forward with the first choice in the PWHL draft.

MOTORSPORTS >> After a restart with five laps left in Friday night’s Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 200 at Martinsville Speedway, Christian Eckes first moved the Toyota of Taylor Gray and then the Ford of Ben Rhodes to win the race and earn a spot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ Championship 4 Race.

Soccer >> Penn State’s Mieke Schiemann scored off a set piece play in the 88th minute and the Nittany Lions beat the Gophers 1-0 in the first round of the Big Ten women’s tournament Friday at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie stadium. Also Friday, Gophers senior Khyah Harper of Lino Lakes was named Big Ten Forward of the Year on Friday. She scored 17 goals and leads the nation in points per game at 2.22 and total points with 40. Harper and graduate Sophia Boman were All-Big Ten First Team selections.

volleyball >> Julia Hanson had 16 kills and Calissa Minatee had four blocks for the No. 15 Gophers (15-6, 8-3 Big Ten) as they defeated Michigan State (8-14, 1-10) 25-15, 25-15, 28-26 in East Lansing, Mich.

— From news services