INDIANAPOLIS >> 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.

Indiana is the first of seven head coaching vacancies in the league to be filled.

Banchero won’t play for a few weeks >> Paolo Banchero knew something was wrong. He was surprised to learn the extent.

The Orlando Magic All-Star 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 in Cleveland. The Magic take on the Cavaliers in a rematch of an Eastern Conference first-round series from last season.

College athletics

Grand Canyon accepts invitation to join MW >> Grand Canyon has accepted an invitation to join the Mountain West Conference no later than 2026, according to an announcement sent by the school.

The Antelopes will join a conference that has six existing members, including Air Force, New Mexico, Nevada, San Jose State, UNLV and Wyoming. UTEP and Hawaii have also announced they’re joining the Mountain West.

Grand Canyon said 17 of its 21 sports teams will play in the Mountain West. The Antelopes do not have a football program but have had considerable success in men’s basketball, making the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons.

College basketball

Plum to have jersey retired >> Kelsey Plum will become the first women’s basketball player in Washington history to have her jersey retired.

The school announced that Plum’s No. 10 jersey will be hung from the rafters on Jan. 18, 2025, when Washington takes on Purdue.

Plum, in a statement released by the school, said she was proud to be Husky and that Washington shaped her as a player and a person.

Plum played at Washington from 2013-17 and departed as the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader with 3,527 points. Caitlin Clark of Iowa broke that record last season.

Tennis

Zverev beats Tsitsipas in Paris Masters >> Alexander Zverev advanced to the semifinals of the Paris Masters by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-4 and knocking the Greek player out of contention for the ATP Finals.

Zverev, the French Open runner-up, next faces 2022 champion Holger Rune for a shot at the title. He’s into his third Paris semifinals in the past four years, though he’s never won the hard-court tournament.

Rune outlasted Alex de Minaur 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a 2 1/2-hour baseline fight. Rune improved to 3-2 against the Australian.

Grigor Dimitrov’s hopes of making the ATP Finals were set back after the 2023 finalist was upset by 2018 champion Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-3 for the first time. Khachanov lost their four previous matches.

Khachanov will face in the semifinals local hope Ugo Humbert, who defeated Jordan Thompson of Australia 6-2, 7-6 (4) a day after stunning Carlos Alcaraz.

Golf

Hana Wakimoto maintains her lead >> Hana Wakimoto shot a 4-under 68 to maintain her lead after the second round of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic.

The Japanese player shot a 63 in the opening round and continued to set the pace with a 13-under-par total of 131 after 36 holes.

Yealimi Noh of the United States and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand were two strokes off the lead after the second round. Noh shot 65 and Jutanugarn carded a 66.