Monarchs clinch final spot in playoffs

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Thanks to another strong effort at home, the Sacramento Monarchs can rest a lot easier on their upcoming two road games that conclude the regular season.

Nicole Powell scored 20 points to help the Monarchs clinch the final playoff berth in the Western Conference with a 77-74 victory over the Seattle Storm on Tuesday night.

Despite the Storm missing three starters, the victory didn't come easily for the Monarchs, who had to score the game's final seven points to secure their sixth straight visit to the postseason, which starts next week with a home game, where they haven't been beaten in eight games.

"Playing on someone else's home court, you never know what could happen, so this relieves the pressure for us," Powell said.

Kara Lawson added 19 points and had two big free throws in the closing seconds to help the Monarchs (18-14) secure the victory and move within a game of Los Angeles for the third seed in the Conference.

Katie Gearlds made her first five 3-point attempts and scored 17 points for Seattle. Tanisha Wright also had 17 points, Yolanda Griffith scored 16 and Camille Little added 12.

Sue Bird, who averaged 21.8 points in the previous five games, was limited to six points, six assists and committed four of Seattle's 24 turnovers.

"We didn't want her (Bird) to get the ball back once she gave it up, so we played more aggressive off the ball," said Lawson, who played with Bird in the Olympics. "She has been playing world class since the Olympics, so we wanted to limit her touches."

Trailing 74-70, Sacramento hit seven straight free throws to rally for the win. Powell's two gave the Monarchs a 75-75 lead with 21.5 seconds left.

"I was just trying to get to the basket (after the steal) and make a play," Powell said. "I got the two free throws and was able to knock them down."

After two Seattle misses, Lawson grabbed the rebound and made two free throws with 10.6 seconds remaining to make the score 77-74.

Gearlds finally missed a long 3-pointer in the final seconds and Bird had a shot blocked as the Monarchs secured the win.

"In terms of this game, you could list a lot of things that we didn't do well," Bird said. "We turned the ball over a lot and they out-rebounded us. But we were in a very good position to win this game in the fourth quarter and we didn't execute."

The Storm (21-11) fell out of a first-place tie with San Antonio, which defeated New York to take over the top spot in the West. Both Seattle and the Silver Stars have two games remaining in the regular season.

The depleted Storm played without three injured starters, Lauren Jackson (ankle), Swin Cash (back) and Sheryl Swoopes (mild concussion).

"This is crazy, it's been a roller coaster from beginning to where we are right now," said Griffith, who had seven rebounds, five assists and five steals against her former teammates. "It really hurts when you have three starters out. But we still had this game, we had an opportunity and it didn't happen."

Led by the outside shooting of Gearlds and Wright, plus the inside play of Griffith, the Storm battled back from a 10-point halftime deficit to pull within 60-59 heading into the fourth quarter.

Sacramento scored 11 straight points late in the second quarter to build a 44-34 halftime lead. Despite foul problems, Lawson scored 11 points for the Monarchs. Wright had 11 points for Seattle.

Monarchs top Silver Stars

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—Although many of the familiar faces are gone from the roster, the Sacramento Monarchs still played with their trademark tough defensive style Saturday night in winning their season-opener at home.

Adrian Williams-Strong and Nicole Powell each scored 13 points and the Monarchs held off the San Antonio Silver Stars for a 73-64 victory.

Despite a revamped starting lineup and bench, the Monarchs dominated the opening stages of the first quarter and led most of the way against the Silver Stars, who defeated Sacramento in the opening round of the playoffs last year.

The Monarchs played without DeMya Walker, who was injured in preseason and released by the team on Friday. Also gone from the Monarchs’ once-formidable front court is Yolanda Griffith, who signed as a free agent with Seattle in the offseason.

But 10 Monarchs played significant minutes, including three rookies and two players who saw limited action a year ago.

“That was impressive the way our rookies came in and played,” said Powell, who didn’t start the game and joined the team late this week after finishing her season in Russia. “Our rookies are very mature, they have no fear. They aren’t intimidated by anyone.”

Rebekkah Brunson and rookie Laura Harper each scored 10 points for the Monarchs, who won despite 23 turnovers. Kara Lawson had nine points and Ticha Penicheiro had six points, seven assists and five rebounds.

Harper, the team’s top draft choice out of Maryland, admitted to some early jitters, but still produced well in 21 minutes. A post player, she made 3 of 5 shots, hit all four free throws and added five rebounds and two blocks.

“The veterans on this team have instilled a lot of confidence in the rookies,” Harper said. “They’ve been telling us you can’t be nervous and have helped us be more composed. This was a fun, an exciting win. It’s great to know I will be coming in and getting some minutes right away, which doesn’t happen to all rookies.”

Sophia Young scored 22 points for San Antonio, which missed 16 of 19 3-point attempts and shot 32 percent. Becky Hammon and Erin Buescher each scored 11 points and Vickie Johnson added eight.

Hammon, who shot 4 of 19 and had one assist, wasn’t ready to give too much credit to the new-look Monarchs.

“We know they are a good defensive team that is scrappy, but I thought we had a lot of good looks, open shots that we just didn’t make,” Hammon said. “We made a lot of mistakes, things that really hurt us.”

Trailing 65-53 early in the fourth, the Silver Stars scored seven straight to cut the lead to five points midway through the quarter. Bothered by Sacramento’s constant defensive pressure, San Antonio scored just four points the rest of the fourth quarter.

“We started missing shots again, and they were able to run. It’s a lot easier to run when you’re getting a rebound on a missed shot, rather than a basket,” Hammon said. “We let the game get away from us at the end.”

Brunson scored nine points in the opening half and nine of the 10 Monarchs who played also scored, helping Sacramento take a 41-35 lead into halftime.

“They (San Antonio) are hard to get a rhythm against, but I thought we showed great perseverance and resilience and got a lot of good minutes from a lot of good people and we found a way,” Monarchs coach Jenny Boucek said

Shooting 31 percent in the opening half, the Silver Stars were fortunate they didn’t trail by more. Hammon typified San Antonio’s shooting woes in the first half, missing 7 of 9 shots and scoring five points.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the game for people listening on the radio or watching the locally televised broadcast was listening to Ron Artest. The controversial Sacramento Kings player did three quarters of the game as a color radio commentator and spent the second quarter in front of the TV cameras.

San Antonio was playing without projected starting center Ann Wauters, who is having passport problems and is expected to join the team next week.

Also, Silver Stars guard Helen Darling also missed all eight shots and scored three points.