INDIANAPOLIS -- Christie Sides had a simple message on Sunday afternoon: leave it better than you found it.

And the former Indiana Fever head coach did just that.

The Fever fired Sides after two years with the franchise on Sunday afternoon. Hired in November 2022, Sides inherited a team that won just five games the previous season.

Indiana Fever news: Indiana Fever part ways with coach Christie Sides after two seasons

In the four seasons prior to hiring Sides, the Fever went 30-94. In two seasons with Indiana, Sides went 33-47. So, Sides won more games in two seasons from 2023-24 than Indiana did from 2019-22.

In her first season at the helm in 2023, Sides went 13-27 with No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston. Then, after 2024 No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark joined, the Fever went 20-20 for the No. 6 seed in the playoffs, ending an eight-year playoff drought.

There were some growing pains in Sides' tenure, as is normal for a first-time head coach. She struggled with defensive rotations and making necessary changes to lineups, as well as standing up for her players against the refs. The Fever started the 2024 season 2-9 (with no thanks to their grueling schedule to open the season), but Indiana ultimately managed to right the ship to finish in a playoff position.

Ultimately, Sides was the coach that brought the team back to a stable place after years of being in the bottom of the league. For the first time since the 2017 draft, the Fever are not in the WNBA Draft Lottery.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever: Christie Sides responds to being fired by Fever