The Indiana Fever named Christie Sides their newest head coach on Friday, and she has a tall task ahead of her to rescue a franchise that has been one of the least successful in professional sports in recent seasons.

Here are five things to know about her:

She’s been on the Indiana sideline before

Sides was an assistant coach for the Fever during the 2017 and 2018 seasons under Pokey Chatman. She has also served as an assistant for the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky. Collegiately, she has served as an assistant for Northwestern University, Louisiana State and Louisiana Tech. She has served as an assistant for the Spartak Moscow Region in Russia and the Slovakian Women’s National Team.

During her time at Louisiana State, the program made three Final Four appearances.

She was a standout player in high school and college

She was the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year during her senior season at Central Private High School, where she graduated as the program’s all-time leading scorer. She played collegiately at Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech. She played in the 1999 Final Four and holds the Louisiana Tech record for 3-point field goal percentage.

She has a tall task ahead of her

The Indiana Fever have won just 11 games in the past two seasons and ended last season on an 18-game losing streak. Young players like NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo, two of the Fever’s first-round draft picks last season, give hope for the future. Both players were named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.

More help could be coming her way

The Indiana Fever have a 44% chance of getting the No. 1 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, and are guaranteed to get a top-three pick. Plus, they have the No. 7 pick. Sides will get a chance to pick several players who could be key pieces of the franchise’s future.

She puts an emphasis on defense

While with Atlanta, Sides placed a high priority on defense.

“We want to be the best-conditioned team in the league. That’s because we really are going to have to defend from start to finish, you know, 90 feet,” Sides told The Next Hoops earlier this year while with the Dream. “That’s our identity. We’re going to get up and we’re going to guard.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever: 5 things to know about new coach Christie Sides