Sacramento Monarchs
| Sacramento Monarchs | |||
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| Conference | Western | ||
| Leagues | WNBA | ||
| Founded | 1997 | ||
| Dissolved | 2009 | ||
| History |
Sacramento Monarchs (1997–2009) |
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| Arena | ARCO Arena | ||
| Location | Sacramento, California | ||
| Team colors | Purple, Red, White, Silver |
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| Championships | 1 (2005) | ||
| Conference titles | 2 (2005, 2006) | ||
| Website | team |
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| Uniforms | |||
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The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Monarchs were one of the WNBA's eight original franchises and were noted early on for standout players Ticha Penicheiro, Ruthie Bolton and Yolanda Griffith. They were the sister franchise of the Sacramento Kings National Basketball Association (NBA) team. They were one of the more successful WNBA franchises on the court, though they often trailed behind perennial Western Conference champions the Houston Comets and the Los Angeles Sparks. However, in 2005, the team brought Sacramento its third championship in a professional sport (the Sacramento Knights won an indoor soccer championship in 1999 and the Sacramento Surge won the WLAF World Bowl in 1992), winning the WNBA Finals for the only time.
The Monarchs made an impact in the WNBA almost immediately. With the hiring of Portuguese national team player Ticha Penicheiro, popular player Ruthie Bolton and prolific scorer Yolanda Griffith, all of whom have been WNBA All-Stars, the Monarchs have been able to make the playoffs almost every year so far, but were normally eliminated before reaching the WNBA Finals.
After losing to the Seattle Storm in the 2004 WNBA Western Conference Championship, the Monarchs made major roster moves to improve the team – obtaining younger players and emphasizing Head Coach John Whisenant's defense-oriented system. Bolton, one of the team's original players, became a free agent and the Monarchs made the difficult decision not to keep her on the active playing roster, though they did offer her a position in their front office. Edna Campbell, a breast cancer survivor and another fan favorite, was not signed by the Monarchs and later signed with the San Antonio Silver Stars.
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