Monarchs host Sparks in season opener

January 4, 2007 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Sacramento Monarchs News Release


SACRAMENTO, CALIF., Jan. 4 , 2007- The 2006 WNBA Western Conference Champion Sacramento Monarchs will host the Los Angeles Sparks in their Home Opener on Saturday, June 2, at 7 p.m., at ARCO Arena, in a rematch of the 2006 WNBA Western Conference Finals. Sacramento begins the season with their first four games on the road, including the WNBA season opener against the 2006 WNBA Champion Detroit Shock on Saturday, May 19, to be nationally televised on ABC, at 12:30 p.m. PDT.

The Monarchs Home Opener will mark the ARCO Arena debut of the new Head Coach, Jenny Boucek. In addition, this will be the second occasion in which Sacramento will face the Los Angeles Sparks for a Monarchs Home Opener. Although the Sparks currently lead the all-time series 22-14 (13-5 home, 9-9 road), the Monarchs have won more than half of their last 12 meetings. During the 2006 post-season, the two teams met in the WNBA Playoffs for the fifth time, ousting the Sparks in the Western Conference Finals in just two games. Later in the season, the Sparks will visit Sacramento for a second time on Tuesday, July 24, to be nationally televised on ESPN2, at 7 p.m. PDT.

On Thursday, June 7, new Head Coach Jenny Boucek will face-off for the first time against her former team, the Seattle Storm, at ARCO Arena. Boucek spent three seasons under Seattle Head Coach Anne Donovan, helping lead the Storm to the 2004 WNBA Championship, which remains the only season the Storm have won at ARCO Arena. This year, Boucek will look to improve on the Monarchs 15-9 overall record versus Seattle. The two teams will meet up twice more during the season including Tuesday, July 31, to be nationally televised on ESPN2, at 7 p.m. PDT, at Seattle and Friday, August 3, at Sacramento.

The 2007 season looks to be another exciting year for the back-to-back WNBA Finals participants. Get your 2007 season tickets today at SacramentoMonarchs.com.

Following is the 2007 Monarchs regular season schedule, including key facts:

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE SACRAMENTO MONARCHS 2007 SCHEDULE

§ By month, the schedule breaks down as follows: May (0 home, 4 away = 4 total), June (8 home, 4 away = 12 total), July (5 home, 4 away = 9 total) and August (4 home, 5 away = 9 total).

§ By day, the schedule breaks down as follows: Monday (0 home, 1 away = 1 total), Tuesday (3 home, 5 away = 8 total), Wednesday (1 home, 1 away = 2 total), Thursday (3 home, 1 away = 4 total), Friday (3 home, 4 away = 7 total), Saturday (4 home, 1 away = 5 total) and Sunday (3 home, 4 away = 7 total).

§ The Monarchs longest homestand is four games, which includes contests against Los Angeles (June 2), San Antonio (June 5), Seattle (June 7) and Houston (June 9).

§ Sacramento has 11 total road trips, eight are single game and the other three road trips are two, three and four games in length. The four-game trip includes Indiana (August 5), Connecticut (August 7), San Antonio (August 9) and Houston (August 10).

§ The Monarchs will play 20 games (10 home, 10 away) before the WNBA All-Star break and 14 games (7 home, 7 away) after.

§ Sacramento will play all teams in the Eastern Conference twice and all teams in the Western Conference four times, except for Houston and Seattle, which will be three games each.

Experience the Monarchs in 2007. Season tickets are on sale now. For more information, please visit the Monarchs Web site at SacramentoMonarchs.com.

Sacramento Monarchs 2007 Regular Season Schedule

Date Opponent Time Site

#Friday, May 11 @ Seattle Storm 7:00 p.m. KeyArena

#Sunday, May 13 Phoenix Mercury 6:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Saturday, May 19 (ABC) @ Detroit Shock 12:30 p.m. The Palace of Auburn Hills

Sunday, May 20 @ Minnesota Lynx 4:00 p.m. Target Center

Tuesday, May 22 (E2) @ Washington Mystics 4:30 p.m. Verizon Center

Tuesday, May 29 @ Phoenix Mercury 7:00 p.m. US Airways Center

Saturday, June 2 Los Angeles Sparks 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Tuesday, June 5 San Antonio Silver Stars 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Thursday, June 7 Seattle Storm 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Saturday, June 9 Phoenix Mercury 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Monday, June 11 @ Houston Comets 5:30 p.m. Toyota Center

Saturday, June 16 Houston Comets 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Tuesday, June 19 @ Chicago Sky 5:00 p.m. UIC Pavilion

Friday, June 22 @ Los Angeles 7:30 p.m. STAPLES Center

Saturday, June 23 Detroit Shock 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Tuesday, June 26 (E2) New York Liberty 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Wednesday, June 27 @ Los Angeles Sparks 7:30 p.m. STAPLES Center

Friday, June 29 Chicago Sky 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Sunday, July 1 Minnesota Lynx 6:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Friday, July 6 @ Minnesota Lynx 5:00 p.m. Target Center

Sunday, July 8 @ New York Liberty 1:00 p.m. Madison Square Garden

Thursday, July 12 Connecticut Sun 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Friday, July 20 @ San Antonio Silver Stars 5:00 p.m. AT&T Center

Tuesday, July 24 (E2) Los Angeles Sparks 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Thursday, July 26 Indiana Fever 11:30 a.m. ARCO Arena

Sunday, July 29 Minnesota Lynx 6:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Tuesday, July 31 (E2) @ Seattle Storm 7:00 p.m. KeyArena

Friday, August 3 Seattle Storm 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Sunday, August 5 @ Indiana Fever 4:00 p.m. Conseco Fieldhouse

Tuesday, August 7 @ Connecticut Sun 4:00 p.m. Mohegan Sun Arena

Thursday, August 9 @ San Antonio Silver Stars 5:00 p.m. AT&T Center

Friday, August 10 @ Houston Comets 5:30 p.m. Toyota Center

Sunday, August 12 Washington Mystics 6:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Wednesday, August 15 San Antonio Silver Stars 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Friday, August 17 Phoenix Mercury 7:00 p.m. ARCO Arena

Sunday, August 19 @ Phoenix Mercury 4:00 p.m. US Airways Center

All game times are local to Sacramento (Times Tentative and Subject to Change)

# = Preseason game

ABC = ABC

E2 = ESPN2



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from January 4, 2007


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