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Sacramento Monarchs Weekly Update

July 13, 2004 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Sacramento Monarchs News Release


QUOTABLES

Seattle Storm head coach Anne Donovan, July 3, 2004 at Seattle: "Sacramento feels real different than most everybody in the league, just because their style is so different. You've got to stay mentally sharp to beat that defense."

"Sacramento showed so pride. (Hamchétou) Maïga came in and gave them great minutes off the bench. ...Sacramento is never going to quit. They take pride in winning ugly, as they say, and they made a nice surge in the second half. It's a dangerous team. And they know with their defense they can get themselves back in the game."

GRIFFITH LEADS MONARCHS AGAINST STORM

Yolanda Griffith has been the Monarchs high-scorer in 7 of 15 meetings with Seattle. When Griffith is the leader in points Sacramento holds a 6-1 record, 3-1 at home and 3-0 on the road.

WHAT ABOUT JACKSON?

Lauren Jackson has been the Storm's high-scorer in seven of 12 meetings with Sacramento. When Jackson is the leader in points Seattle holds a 3-4 record, 3-1 at home and 0-3 on the road.

MONARCHS/STORM CONNECTIONS

* Monarchs forward Yolanda Griffith and guard Ticha Penicheiro were teammates with Storm center Lauren Jackson during the 2003-04 offseason as they all played for UMMC in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

* Storm guard Tully Bevilaqua was teammates with Sacramento forward DeMya Walker in Portland. Both played for the Fire for three seasons, from 2000-02.

* Storm center Simone Edwards graduated from Iowa in 1996, while Monarchs forward Tangela Smith graduated in 1998. The two were on the same team for two seasons, 1994-95 and 1995-96.

* Storm head coach Anne Donovan graduated from Old Dominion University in 1983, two Monarchs players also played for ODU, Ticha Penicheiro ('98) and Tanty Maïga ('01).

* Monarchs guard Kara Lawson of Tennessee went head-to-head with the Storm's Sue Bird of the University of Connecticut in the semifinals of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. UConn defeated Tennessee 79-56.

* Monarchs guard Edna Campbell played for the Seattle Storm for the 2000 season before being traded to Sacramento in exchange for Katy Steding in April 2001.

* Seattle assistant coach, Jenny Boucek graduated from Virginia in 1997, while Monarchs forward DeMya Walker graduated in 1999. They played on the same team during the 1995-96 season.

* Storm guard/forward Sheri Sam was a 1996 graduate of Vanderbilt, while Monarchs center Chantelle Anderson graduated in 2003.

QUOTABLES

Sacramento Monarchs forward Yolanda Griffith, June 7, 2003 vs. LA: "Anytime you play a tough opponent the crowd is going to support us."

Sacramento Monarchs guard Edna Campbell, July 31, 2003 vs. LA: "The fans (ARCO Arena) are tremendous. We feel their energy and we feel their support, especially at crunch time. Everybody loves to beat L.A. so when we had that lead going down the stretch, you could just feel that (the fans) were just as excited about it as we were."

WHAT ABOUT LESLIE AND MABIKA?

Lisa Leslie has been the high-scorer for the Sparks in 10 of 26 meetings with the Monarchs. When Leslie is leading L.A. in points Sacramento is 4-6 overall, 3-2 at home and 1-4 on the road.

Mwadi Mabika has been the high-scorer for the Sparks in 8 of 26 meetings with the Monarchs. When Mabika is leading the Sparks in scoring Sacramento is 3-5 overall, 2-3 at home and 1-2 on the road.

HOW ABOUT GRIFFITH?

Yolanda Griffith has been the high-scorer for the Monarchs in 8 of 22 meetings with the Sparks. When Griffith is leading Sacramento in points, the Monarchs are 4-4 overall against L.A, 2-3 at home and 2-1 on the road.

MONARCHS/SPARKS CONNECTIONS

· Monarchs forward Yolanda Griffith and guard Ticha Penicheiro were teammates with Sparks guards Tamecka Dixon and Nikki Teasley and forward DeLisha Milton-Jones during the 2003-04 offseason as they all played for UMMC in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

· Monarchs guard Ruthie Bolton played alongside Sparks center Lisa Leslie on the 1996 gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic women's basketball team.

· Sacramento's Ruthie Bolton and Yolanda Griffith joined Los Angeles' Lisa Leslie and DeLisha Milton as teammates on the gold medal-winning 2000 U.S. Olympic team.

· Monarchs guard Ticha Penicheiro joined Sparks players Lisa Leslie, Tamecka Dixon and Mwadi Mabika in the 2002 All-Star Game for the Western Conference under direction of Sparks Head Coach Michael Cooper.

· Los Angeles guard Christi Thomas is a 2004 graduate of the University of Georgia, while Sacramento guard Lady Grooms graduated from Georgia back in 1992.

QUOTABLES

Sacramento Monarchs guard Ticha Penicheiro, July 2, 2003 vs. Washington: "We got the easy baskets and that's what the Sacramento Monarchs are all about."

Sacramento Monarchs guard Kara Lawson, Jun 18, 2003 at Washington: "Its just basketball and I like playing in close situations, being able to make big plays for your team."

WHAT ABOUT HOLDSCLAW?

Mystics forward Chamique Holdsclaw has been the high-scorer for Washington in five of 10 meetings with Sacramento. When Holdsclaw leads the Mystics in scoring the Monarchs hold a 3-2 record, 1-1 at home and 2-1 on the road.

HOW ABOUT SMITH OR GRIFFITH?

Monarchs forward Tangela Smith has been the high-scorer for Sacramento in three of 10 meetings with the Mystics. Sacramento holds a 2-1 record when Smith leads the team in scoring, 1-0 at home and 1-1 in Washington.

Sacramento forward Yolanda Griffith has been the high-scorer for the Monarchs in four of 10 meetings with the Mystics. When Griffith leads the Monarchs in scoring Sacramento holds a 4-0 record, 3-0 at home and 1-0 on the road.

MONARCHS/MYSTICS CONNECTIONS

* Washington guards Kiesha Brown and Coco Miller both played at Georgia from 1999-01, while Monarchs forward La'Keshia Frett ('97) and guard Lady Grooms (''92) also played for Georgia.

* Mystic forward Chamique Holdsclaw is a 1999 graduate of Tennessee, while four years later Monarchs guard Kara Lawson graduated in 2003.

MOST RECENT GAME RECAP

July 12, 2004 vs Detroit - W 67-51 (Palace of Auburn Hills)

Sacramento defeated the reigning WNBA Champion Detroit Shock 67-51on Monday night. The Shock led by as many as 8 points (12-4) in the first half before the Monarchs tied it up at 16-16 after a lay-up from Rebekkah Brunson with 9:20 remaining in the first half. The two teams battled it out during the final nine minutes with Sacramento leading 31-29 entering the break.

The Monarchs took over the game in the second half accumulating their largest lead at 41-59 (18 points), after a three-pointer from Kara Lawson, with 9:27 left in regulation. The Monarchs continued to lead throughout the half as the Shock were only able to reduce their deficit to 13 points (64-51) with less than a minute left in the game. A three-pointer by Tangela Smith in the final seconds allowed the Monarchs the 67-51 victory.

Led by Ruthie Bolton the Monarchs bench led the team in scoring as Bolton went 4-of-4 from the floor in the second half and finished the game with 11 points, while Chantelle Anderson and Rebekkah Brunson both contributed 10 points. Brunson was also the team leader on the boards grabbing seven rebounds. Leading the Shock in the loss was Ruth Riley and Deanna Nolan with 11 points each.

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