Former Purdue women’s basketball star Stephanie White is one step closer to a WNBA championship. On Wednesday night, she led the Connecticut Sun to an 87-81 win over the Indiana Fever, sweeping the first round series of the playoffs.
With Wednesday night’s victory, Connecticut advances to the semifinal round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs and will play the Minnesota Lynx. That will be a best-of-five series, with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 29 at 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).
White is in her second season as the coach of the Sun. Connecticut ended the 2024 regular season with a 28-12 record, finishing third in the WNBA standings.
This isn’t the first time White has been in this position as a coach. Last year, Connecticut concluded the regular season with a 27-13 record and reached the semifinal round of the 2023 WNBA playoffs. The Sun were defeated 3-1 by the New York Liberty.
White was named the WNBA Coach of the Year in 2023.
During the regular season, the Sun enjoyed some success against the Lynx. Connecticut won two of the three meetings — winning an 83-82 contest in overtime on May 23 and getting a 78-73 victory on July 4. Minnesota’s lone win was a 78-76 decision on Sept. 17.
White was a star guard at Purdue from 1995-99, winning a national championship as a member of the 1998-99 squad. For her career, White averaged 17.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
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