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Three Monarchs selected as WNBA All-Decade Team nominees

April 27, 2006 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Sacramento Monarchs News Release


SACRAMENTO, CALIF., April 27, 2006 - The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) today announced that three Sacramento Monarchs players have been selected as WNBA All-Decade Team Nominees. Original Monarchs guard Ruthie Bolton and current Monarchs players Yolanda Griffith and Ticha Penicheiro are amongst the 30 nominees that were selected by a panel of national media members and WNBA coaches on the basis of their overall contribution to the League.

Bolton, currently the Monarchs fan and team relations manager, was assigned to Sacramento by the WNBA in the initial player allocation in the inaugural season of 1997. In her eight years as a fan favorite Bolton was a two time All-Star and two time All-WNBA First Team selection, scored 2,183 career-points (30th in WNBA history), including a career-high 34 points three times and is currently sixth all-time in league history for 3-pointers made (314). In addition to her WNBA success, Bolton has two Olympic Gold Medals from the 1996 and 2000 Summer Games.

2005 WNBA Finals MVP, Griffith was selected number two overall by the Monarchs in the 1999 WNBA Draft. In her rookie campaign she was honored as the WNBA MVP and also earned All-WNBA First Team honors and played in the inaugural All-Star Game. Griffith has gone on to participate in four additional All-Star Games and has been named to the All-WNBA First Team once (2005) and the Second Team three times (2000, 2001, 2004). She currently ranks in the top 10 in league history in nine career categories, including second in rebounds (1,882), fifth in steals (409), sixth in field goal percentage (.515), seventh in blocks (276) and eighth in points (3,306).

Penicheiro, the WNBA's all-time assists leader (1,591) and Sacramento's first pick in the 1998 WNBA Draft (second overall) has led the league in assists for six different seasons. The four-time WNBA All-Star was the recipient of the WNBA Cascade Dish & Assist Award in 2003 and received All-WNBA First Team honors twice (1999 and 2000) and Second Team honors once (2001). Penicheiro is also the League's all-time assists per game leader (6.6); ranks second in total steals (481) and sixth in total minutes played (7,719).

The WNBA All-Decade Team will celebrate and honor the League's ten most influential players since its first season in 1997. Voting will take place at WNBA.com from April 28 to May 31, with the team being announced in June and honored at the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game in July.

The Monarchs will play three games in the preseason, the first being on Thursday, May 4, versus the New York Liberty, at 7:00 p.m. PDT, at ARCO Arena. *Please note this is a date change from the previously listed date of May 5. The team will then travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they will host the Connecticut Sun, in a rematch of the 2005 WNBA Finals, on Tuesday, May 9, at 6:00 p.m. PDT, at University Arena "The Pit." The final preseason game will be on Saturday, May 13, against the New York Liberty at Madison Square Garden, at 1:00 p.m. PDT.

On Saturday, May 20, the Monarchs will be nationally televised on ABC, for the WNBA's Opening Day, against the Phoenix Mercury, at 1:00 p.m. PDT, at ARCO Arena, with the Championship Ring Ceremony to begin at 12:15 p.m.

Be a part of the Monarchs 10th Anniversary season. 2006 Sacramento Monarchs Season ticket packages are on sale now. For more information, please visit the Monarchs website at www.SacramentoMonarchs.com .

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