2001 Sacramento Monarchs season

The 2001 WNBA season was the 5th season for the Sacramento Monarchs. The team won their first playoff series, but they were later defeated by eventual champion Los Angeles Sparks in the conference finals.

2001 Sacramento Monarchs season
Coach	Sonny Allen (resigned Jun. 26, 6–6 record) Maura McHugh (14–6 record)
Arena	ARCO Arena
Attendance	8,350 per game
Results
Record	20–12 (.625)
Place	2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	Lost Conference Finals (2-1) to Los Angeles Sparks
Media
Television	KMAX (UPN 31)
← 2000 season 2002 season →

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2001 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
2	30	Jackie Moore	United States	Long Beach State
3	46	Maren Walseth	United States	Penn State
4	62	Katie Smrcka-Duffy	United States	Georgetown

Transactions

Date	Transaction
April 11, 2001	Traded a 2001 1st Round Pick to the Indiana Fever in exchange for Kara Wolters[1]
April 20, 2001	Drafted Jackie Moore, Maren Walseth and Katie Smrcka-Duffy in the 2001 WNBA Draft[1]
April 24, 2001	Traded Katy Steding and a 2002 2nd Round Pick to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Edna Campbell and a 2002 4th Round Pick[1]
April 30, 2001	Signed Dana Wynne, Maxann Reese, Monique Ambers and Ryneldi Becenti[1]
May 9, 2001	Waived Katie Smrcka-Duffy[1]
May 11, 2001	Waived Linda Burgess[1]
May 24, 2001	Waived Dana Wynne and Jackie Moore[1]
May 27, 2001	Suspended contract of Yolanda Griffith[1]
June 6, 2001	Waived Monique Ambers[1]
June 15, 2001	Waived Maren Walseth[1]
June 26, 2001	Sonny Allen resigned as Head Coach[1]
	Hired Maura McHugh as Head Coach[1]

Roster

2001 Sacramento Monarchs roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 5 Blodgett, Cindy 5' 9" (1.75m) 130 lb (59kg) 1975-12-13 Maine 3 G 6 Bolton, Ruthie 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) 1967-05-27 Auburn 4 G 12 Campbell, Edna 5' 8" (1.73m) 152 lb (69kg) 1968-11-26 Texas 2 G 24 Clinesmith, Stacy 5' 5" (1.65m) 125 lb (57kg) 1978-04-22 UC Santa Barbara 1 F 0 Frett, La'Keshia 6' 3" (1.91m) 170 lb (77kg) 1975-06-12 Georgia 2 F/C 33 Griffith, Yolanda 6' 4" (1.93m) 175 lb (79kg) 1970-03-01 Florida Atlantic 2 F 27 Hardmon, Lady 5' 10" (1.78m) 160 lb (73kg) 1970-09-12 Georgia 4 F 25 Holland-Corn, Kedra 5' 8" (1.73m) 129 lb (59kg) 1974-11-02 Georgia 2 G 21 Penicheiro, Ticha 5' 11" (1.8m) 146 lb (66kg) 1974-09-18 Old Dominion 3 C 50 Smith, Tangela 6' 3" (1.91m) 158 lb (72kg) 1977-04-01 Iowa 3 F 54 Walseth, Maren 6' 2" (1.88m) 1978-10-28 Penn State R C 52 Wolters, Kara 6' 7" (2.01m) 227 lb (103kg) 1975-08-15 Connecticut 2 F 10 Wynne, Dana 6' 2" (1.88m) 1975-02-02 Seton Hall R	Head coach Maura McHugh (Old Dominion) Assistant coaches Al Biancani Jill Jackson Michele Cherry Steve Shuman Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Schedule

Regular season

2001 game log Total: 20–12 (Home: 12–4; Road: 8–8)
June: 8–6 (Home: 4–3; Road: 4–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 June 2 Cleveland W 70–65 Edna Campbell (15) Tangela Smith (6) Stacy Clinesmith (4) ARCO Arena 1–0 2 June 4 @ New York W 80–63 Yolanda Griffith (22) Yolanda Griffith (10) Ruthie Bolton (4) Madison Square Garden 2–0 3 June 5 @ Washington L 72–75 Tangela Smith (22) Yolanda Griffith (20) Edna Campbell (6) MCI Center 2–1 4 June 7 Charlotte W 77–65 Yolanda Griffith (30) Yolanda Griffith (18) Edna Campbell (4) ARCO Arena 3–1 5 June 9 Miami L 67–71 Kedra Holland-Corn (16) Yolanda Griffith (9) Kedra Holland-Corn (5) ARCO Arena 3–2 6 June 12 @ Phoenix L 64–78 Yolanda Griffith (17) Yolanda Griffith (13) Kedra Holland-Corn (4) America West Arena 3–3 7 June 14 Phoenix W 81–59 Yolanda Griffith (15) Yolanda Griffith (18) Kedra Holland-Corn (4) ARCO Arena 4–3 8 June 16 Portland L 74–81 (OT) Yolanda Griffith (17) Yolanda Griffith (17) Griffith Penicheiro (5) ARCO Arena 4–4 9 June 19 New York L 56–65 La'Keshia Frett (17) Yolanda Griffith (10) Edna Campbell (5) ARCO Arena 4–5 10 June 21 @ Utah W 87–75 Kedra Holland-Corn (26) Yolanda Griffith (14) Edna Campbell (8) Delta Center 5–5 11 June 23 @ Houston L 56–70 Ruthie Bolton (15) Ticha Penicheiro (7) Ticha Penicheiro (12) Compaq Center 5–6 12 June 24 @ Charlotte W 85–82 Yolanda Griffith (23) Yolanda Griffith (16) Ticha Penicheiro (6) Charlotte Coliseum 6–6 13 June 28 Houston W 64–54 Kara Wolters (18) Yolanda Griffith (12) Ticha Penicheiro (4) ARCO Arena 7–6 14 June 30 @ Seattle W 65–59 Yolanda Griffith (15) Tangela Smith (9) Ticha Penicheiro (5) KeyArena 8–6
July : 7–4 (Home: 5–1; Road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 15 July 3 @ Minnesota W 91–52 Kedra Holland-Corn (25) Kedra Holland-Corn (9) Ticha Penicheiro (6) Target Center 9–6 16 July 6 @ Orlando W 75–68 Lady Hardmon (13) Kedra Holland-Corn (4) Ticha Penicheiro (8) TD Waterhouse Centre 10–6 17 July 7 @ Miami L 54–66 Yolanda Griffith (20) Yolanda Griffith (11) Ticha Penicheiro (4) American Airlines Arena 10–7 18 July 10 Houston W 78–76 (2OT) Yolanda Griffith (29) Yolanda Griffith (15) Ticha Penicheiro (9) ARCO Arena 11–7 19 July 12 Utah W 69–67 Tangela Smith (27) Yolanda Griffith (12) Ticha Penicheiro (10) ARCO Arena 12–7 20 July 14 @ Utah L 57–69 Yolanda Griffith (18) Yolanda Griffith (9) Ticha Penicheiro (11) Delta Center 12–8 21 July 19 Los Angeles L 68–83 Edna Campbell (18) Yolanda Griffith (7) Bolton Penicheiro (5) ARCO Arena 12–9 22 July 21 Detroit W 66–52 Yolanda Griffith (19) Yolanda Griffith (13) Ticha Penicheiro (6) ARCO Arena 13–9 23 July 25 @ Los Angeles L 78–80 Kedra Holland-Corn (21) Yolanda Griffith (13) Edna Campbell (8) Staples Center 13–10 24 July 27 Portland W 85–62 Kedra Holland-Corn (17) Tangela Smith (8) Ticha Penicheiro (8) ARCO Arena 14–10 25 July 29 Phoenix W 63–47 Yolanda Griffith (25) Yolanda Griffith (17) Bolton Penicheiro (5) ARCO Arena 15–10
August : 5–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 26 August 2 @ Los Angeles L 62–67 Edna Campbell (21) Yolanda Griffith (9) Ticha Penicheiro (11) Staples Center 15–11 27 August 3 Indiana W 81–69 Griffith Frett (18) Tangela Smith (7) Ticha Penicheiro (11) ARCO Arena 16–11 28 August 5 @ Minnesota L 76–79 (OT) Ticha Penicheiro (17) Yolanda Griffith (12) Ticha Penicheiro (10) Target Center 16–12 29 August 7 Minnesota W 76–59 Yolanda Griffith (27) Yolanda Griffith (11) Ticha Penicheiro (14) ARCO Arena 17–12 30 August 11 Seattle W 81–61 Yolanda Griffith (25) Ruthie Bolton (8) Ticha Penicheiro (7) ARCO Arena 18–12 31 August 12 @ Portland W 64–58 Ruthie Bolton (21) Yolanda Griffith (15) Ticha Penicheiro (5) Rose Garden 19–12 32 August 14 @ Seattle W 72–62 Yolanda Griffith (19) Yolanda Griffith (16) Ticha Penicheiro (4) KeyArena 20–12
2001 season schedule

Playoffs

2001 playoff game log
First round vs. Utah Starzz Won Series: 2–0 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 August 17 @ Utah W 89–65 Yolanda Griffith (28) Yolanda Griffith (12) Ticha Penicheiro (9) Delta Center 1–0 2 August 19 Utah W 71–66 Yolanda Griffith (30) Yolanda Griffith (14) Ticha Penicheiro (7) ARCO Arena 2–0
Conference Finals vs. Los Angeles Sparks Lost Series: 1–2 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 August 24 Los Angeles L 73–74 Yolanda Griffith (18) Griffith Smith (6) Ticha Penicheiro (5) ARCO Arena 0–1 2 August 26 @ Los Angeles W 80–60 Yolanda Griffith (24) Yolanda Griffith (8) Ticha Penicheiro (7) Staples Center 1–1 3 August 27 @ Los Angeles L 62–93 Kedra Holland-Corn (12) Tangela Smith (6) Ticha Penicheiro (5) Staples Center 1–2
2001 playoff schedule

Season standings

Western Conference	W	L	PCT	Conf.	GB
Los Angeles Sparks x	28	4	.875	19–2	–
Sacramento Monarchs x	20	12	.625	13–8	8.0
Utah Starzz x	19	13	.594	11–10	9.0
Houston Comets x	19	13	.594	13–8	9.0
Phoenix Mercury o	13	19	.406	8–13	15.0
Minnesota Lynx o	12	20	.375	9–12	16.0
Portland Fire o	11	21	.344	5–16	17.0
Seattle Storm o	10	22	.313	6–15	18.0

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Yolanda Griffith	32	31	33.7	.522	N/A	.720	11.2	1.7	2.0	1.2	16.2
Ticha Penichiero	23	22	32.3	.339	.262	.766	3.7	7.5	1.7	0.3	6.3
Tangela Smith	32	32	28.5	.420	.000	.729	5.6	1.3	1.1	1.7	11.2
Kedra Holland-Corn	32	32	27.3	.442	.393	.683	2.3	2.2	1.8	0.2	10.1
Edna Campbell	32	32	26.7	.377	.457	.767	2.7	2.3	0.6	0.3	8.1
Ruthie Bolton	31	0	18.8	.338	.364	.692	3.0	1.8	0.9	0.0	7.2
Lady Hardmon	31	0	17.5	.430	N/A	.741	2.5	1.2	0.5	0.3	4.5
La'Keshia Frett	30	10	13.4	.389	N/A	.857	1.8	0.6	0.3	0.2	4.3
Kara Wolters	31	1	12.2	.470	N/A	.806	2.4	0.5	0.1	0.8	4.9
Cindy Blodgett	11	0	6.5	.448	.533	N/A	0.8	0.5	0.5	0.1	3.1
Stacy Clinesmith	16	0	4.7	.286	.200	N/A	0.2	0.9	0.1	0.0	0.6
Dana Wynne	1	0	3.0	N/A	N/A	1.000	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
Maren Walseth	4	0	2.0	.500	N/A	1.000	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0

^‡Waived/Released during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season