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Monarchs to host Chinese National Team and Phoenix for 2005 preseason games

March 3, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Sacramento Monarchs News Release


SACRAMENTO, CALIF., MARCH 3, 2005 - The Sacramento Monarchs today announce that the team will play three preseason games prior to the start of the 2005 WNBA regular season, hosting the Chinese National Team on Friday, May 6, at 7:00 p.m. at the Memorial Auditorium and the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m. at ARCO Arena. The Monarchs will play their final preseason game on the road at Seattle when they take on the defending WNBA Champion Storm on Saturday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m. at KeyArena.

This will be the first time that Sacramento will play against the Chinese National Team. The newest member of the Monarchs, Sui Feifei, the second Chinese player in WNBA history to sign with a franchise, will face her teammates from the 2004 Olympic Games where she led the team in scoring.

Phoenix will travel to Sacramento for the Monarchs final preseason home game. This marks the fourth ever preseason meeting between these two teams. In the 2004 regular season the Monarchs won two of three games against Phoenix and currently lead the all-time series 15-13 (8-5 home, 7-8 on the road). The Monarchs will face the Mercury on four occasions during the 2005 regular season: May 21, at Phoenix (WNBA Opening Night), June 10, vs. Phoenix, August 12, at Phoenix and August 23, vs. Phoenix.

The Monarchs will head to Seattle for their final game of the preseason. The Storm have faced Sacramento every year in the preseason, except their first year in the WNBA (2000). Last year, during the 2004 regular season, Seattle won three of the four games. The two teams met up again for the 2004 Western Conference finals in which the Storm won two games to the Monarchs one. Currently, Sacramento leads the all-time series 11-6 (7-2 home, 4-4 road). In the 2005 regular season the two teams are scheduled for three meetings: July 3, at Seattle, August 20, vs. Seattle and August 25 at Seattle.

The Sacramento Monarchs will play their first regular season home game on Saturday, June 4, at ARCO Arena when the Monarchs host the Los Angeles Sparks at 1:00 p.m. in a game to be nationally televised on ABC.

Fans are asked to call (916) 419-WNBA for information about season ticket plans. For more information, please visit the Monarchs website at www.SacramentoMonarchs.com.

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