Stephanie White is leaving as coach of the Connecticut Sun, the seventh vacancy in the WNBA since the end of the season

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Stephanie White and the Connecticut Sun have parted ways after she led the team to the WNBA semifinals in both seasons as coach, the team announced Monday.

The Sun finished third in the regular season with a 28-12 record, defeated Indiana in the first round of the playoffs and lost a five-game semifinal series to Minnesota.

“We would like to thank Stephanie for her time in Connecticut and her commitment to our organization over the past two seasons,” said Sun President Jen Rizzotti. “We wish her all the best for her future endeavors.”

The Sun are the seventh WNBA team to make a coaching change, and the announcement came a day afterward Indiana Fever fired Christie Sides.

White had said on one Zoom with reporters two weeks ago that she was dealing with a family emergency and wasn't thinking about her future as a coach.

White led the Sun to a franchise-best 27-13 record in her first season and was named the 2023 WNBA Coach of the Year and the Associated Press Coach of the Year.

White was previously an assistant and head coach at the Indiana Fever. She was on the staff of the Fever's 2012 WNBA championship team and led the team to the Finals as head coach in 2015. She was the head coach at Vanderbilt from 2016-21.

White played five seasons in the WNBA after her college career at Purdue. The Indiana native played the last four of her five WNBA seasons with the Fever.

White has also worked in television as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and the Big Ten Network.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball