Sacramento Monarchs Weekly Update

May 10, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Sacramento Monarchs News Release


Monarchs Recent Transactions
5-9-05: Waived guard Ruthie Bolton
5-8-05: Waived guard Giuliana Mendiola
5-3-05: Waived guard Anne O'Neil
4-16-05: Selected guards Kristin Haynie (Hay-knee) (9th overall), Chelsea Newton (22nd overall), Anne O'Neil (30th overall) and center Cisti (Kiss-ti) Greenwalt (35th overall) in the 2005 WNBA Draft.

3-7-05: Signed center Hollie Grima (Grime-a) and guard Carly Wilson, both of Australia as free agents.
3-3-05: Signed guard Miao (rhymes with "how") Lijie (LEE-zjuh) of China as a free agent.
3-3-05: Acquired guard/forward Nicole Powell, center Olympia Scott, and forward/guard Erin Buescher in a trade with the Charlotte Sting for Tangela Smith and the Monarchs second round draft pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.

2-11-05: Signed guard Sui (Sway) Feifei (Fayfay) of China as a free agent.

Monarchs Preseason Outlook
Thursday, May 12 vs. Phoenix Mercury, 7:00 P.M. PDT at ARCO Arena

Saturday, May 14 at Seattle Storm, 7:00 P.M. PDT at KeyArena

*All games can be heard on Sports 1140 KHTK with Jim Kozimor and Krista Blunk calling the action.

Monarchs Open Preseason with Win:
The Monarchs' third-round draft pick, Cisti Greenwalt, scored a team-high 17 points and added seven rebounds as the Monarchs topped the visiting Chinese National Team 103-79 at Memorial Auditorium.

The Chinese National Team's only lead came in the early seconds of the game when they were up 3-1. The Monarchs followed with several impressive runs, leading by as many as 37 points and tying the franchise regular-season record for points in one half with 59.

In her first game against her Chinese teammates, Miao Lijie added 12 points shooting 66.7 percent- from three-point range. Recent acquisition Erin Buescher added 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals for the Monarchs. Returning guard Kara Lawson showed great leadership as she shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from behind the arc. As a team, the Monarchs outrebounded the Chinese National Team 40-25 and dominated the points in the paint 58-32.

Next Game Outlook: Thursday, May 12 vs. Phoenix Mercury at 7:00 PM at ARCO Arena
The Monarchs are preparing to take on 2004 WNBA Rookie of the Year Diana Taurasi and 2005's number 3 overall Draft pick Sandora Irvin in a preseason matchup against the Phoenix Mercury, Thursday, May 12th at ARCO Arena. Having not made a postseason appearance since the 2000 season, Phoenix has made a strong effort to boost their defensive presence during the 2004-05 offseason. Irvin, a 6-3 forward, earned single-game and career records for blocks in her senior season at Texas Christian University. The Mercury also signed 6-4 free agent center Kamila Vodichkova from the WNBA defending champion Seattle Storm. Sacramento owns a 15-13 overall regular-season record against Phoenix, including an 8-5 record at ARCO Arena.

The Monarchs will be available to the media on Thursday morning for shootaround at 11:45 A.M. at ARCO Arena. Please confirm attendance at shootaround and also make any credential requests for Thursday's game by calling Rebecca Brutlag at (916) 928-8112 no later than Wednesday at 5:00 P.M.

Upcoming Game Outlook: Saturday, May 14 at Seattle Storm at 7:00 PM at KeyArena
In their first rematch since the 2004 Western Conference Finals, the Monarchs tip-off against the Storm on Saturday, May 14th at Seattle's KeyArena. Seattle is looking to defend its 2004 WNBA Championship. However, with 1/3 of the team from the end of last season already gone, a 2005 repeat could be difficult. In their first preseason game, the Storm fell to the Liberty last weekend 72-58 in New York. Like Seattle, Sacramento is also undergoing a facelift since the team's 2004 playoff run. With the multitude of offseason and training camp transactions, the Monarchs will also be working to develop a new team chemistry before the start of the regular season.

Media availability for the Monarchs shootaround in Seattle will begin at 11:45 A.M. at KeyArena.

Monarchs 2004 Season Recap
The Monarchs can look back at the 2004 season as a building block. Finally overcoming the Los Angeles Sparks in the playoffs was undoubtedly constructive. Also, after taking the newly crowned 2004 WNBA Champion Seattle Storm to a decisive game three in the Western Conference Finals, the Monarchs have learned that their collective game can only get better.

Near the end of the regular season, both the Monarchs and their fans were hopeful that the team would make the playoffs. Showing their toughness, Sacramento won their final three games of the regular season to slip neatly into the fourth place spot of the Western Conference and the 2004 WNBA Playoffs; thus earning the Monarchs their fifth playoff berth in the past six seasons.



2005 Monarchs Training Camp Roster

No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate College/Country WNBA Exp.
7 Chantelle Anderson C 6-6 192 01/22/81 Vanderbilt ‘03 2
32 Rebekkah Brunson F 6-3 175 12/11/81 Georgetown ‘04 1
11 Erin Buescher G/F 6-2 181 06/05/79 The Masters College ‘01 3
10 Sui Feifei G 6-1 162 01/29/79 China R
31 Cisti Greenwalt C 6-5 183 04/04/83 Texas Tech '05 R
33 Yolanda Griffith F 6-4 175 03/01/70 Florida Atlantic ‘93 6
15 Hollie Grima C 6-3 181 12/16/83 Australia R
4 Kristin Haynie G 5-8 147 06/17/83 Michigan State ‘05 R
20 Kara Lawson G 5-8 172 02/14/81 Tennessee ‘03 2
8 Miao Lijie G 5-11 153 06/03/81 China R
9 Hamchétou Maïga G/F 6-1 160 04/25/78 Old Dominion ‘01 3
2 Chelsea Newton G 5-11 150 02/17/83 Rutgers ‘05 R
21 Ticha Penicheiro G 5-11 149 09/18/74 Old Dominion ‘98 7
14 Nicole Powell G/F 6-2 170 06/22/82 Stanford ‘04 1
0 Olympia Scott C 6-2 191 08/05/76 Stanford ‘98 6
22 DeMya Walker F 6-4 168 11/28/77 Virginia ‘99 5
5 Carly Wilson G 5-11 164 07/08/82 Australia R

NUMERICAL ROSTER COACHING STAFF
No. Player HEAD COACH/GENERAL MANAGER

0 Olympia Scott John Whisenant (wiz-NIT)
2 Chelsea Newton (New Mexico State ‘66)
4 Kristin Haynie (HAY-knee)
5 Carly Wilson ASSISTANT COACHES
7 Chantelle (shawn-TELL) Anderson Tom Abatemarco (Dowling ‘77)
8 Miao (Mhow) Lijie (LEE-zjuh) Steve Shuman (CSU, Sacramento '89)
9 Hamchétou (HAUM-shay-two) Maïga (MY-ga) Monique Ambers (Arizona State '93)
10 Sui (Sway) Feifei (FayFay)
11 Erin Buescher (BUSH-er) HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER
14 Nicole Powell Jill Jackson (CSU, Sacramento '87)
15 Hollie Grima (Grime-a)
20 Kara Lawson
21 Ticha (TEE-sha) Penicheiro (Pen-a-CHAIR-o)
22 DeMya (de-MY-a) Walker
31 Cisti (KISS-tea) Greenwalt
32 Rebekkah Brunson
33 Yolanda Griffith



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from May 10, 2005


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