# 2008 Sacramento Monarchs season

The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season for the Sacramento Monarchs. The team reached the playoffs for the man consecutive season. It was also their 9th and final playoff berth before folding a season later.

## Offseason

The following player was selected in the Expansion Draft:
* Kristin Haynie Sacramento Monarchs

### Transactions

* April 18 The Monarchs signed Amy Sanders to a training camp contract.
* April 16 The Monarchs signed Janie Mitchell to a training camp contract.
* April 15 The Monarchs signed Dionne Marsh to a training camp contract.
* March 31 The Monarchs re-signed free agent DeMya Walker.
* March 4 The Monarchs re-signed free agent Ticha Penicheiro.
* March 3 The Monarchs re-signed free agents Rebekkah Brunson, Linda Frohlich and Nicole Powell.

### WNBA draft

| Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Club Team |
| 10 | Laura Harper | United States | Maryland |
| 38 | A’Quonesia Franklin | United States | Texas A&M |
| 40 | Izabela Piekarska (from Indiana Fever) | Poland | UTEP |
| 43 | Charel Allen | United States | Notre Dame |

## Preseason

| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| May 2 | Seattle Storm | 70–68 | Win | 1–0 |
| May 5 | Washington Mystics | 82–90 (OT) | Loss | 1–1 |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| San Antonio Silver Stars $^x$ | 24 | 10 | .706 | – | 15–2 | 9–8 | 10–10 |
| Seattle Storm $^x$ | 22 | 12 | .647 | 2.0 | 16–1 | 6–11 | 13–7 |
| Los Angeles Sparks $^x$ | 20 | 14 | .588 | 4.0 | 12–5 | 8–9 | 12–8 |
| Sacramento Monarchs $^x$ | 18 | 16 | .529 | 6.0 | 5–12 | 13–4 | 9–11 |
| Houston Comets $^o$ | 17 | 17 | .500 | 7.0 | 13–4 | 4–13 | 10–10 |
| Minnesota Lynx $^o$ | 16 | 18 | .471 | 8.0 | 10–7 | 6–11 | 8–12 |
| Phoenix Mercury $^o$ | 16 | 18 | .471 | 8.0 | 9–8 | 7–10 | 8–12 |

### Season Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| May 17 | vs. San Antonio | 73–64 | Win | 1–0 |
| May 20 | @ Seattle | 62–74 | Loss | 1–1 |
| May 22 | @ Chicago | 77–87 | Loss | 1–2 |
| May 24 | @ Connecticut | 64–87 | Loss | 1–3 |
| May 30 | vs. Houston | 73–66 | Win | 2–3 |
| June 6 | vs. Detroit | 70–84 | Loss | 2–4 |
| June 8 | @ New York | 70–63 | Win | 3–4 |
| June 11 | @ Washington | 79–76 | Win | 4–4 |
| June 12 | @ Minnesota | 82–78 | Win | 5–4 |
| June 14 | vs. Los Angeles | 66–74 | Loss | 5–5 |
| June 20 | vs. Connecticut | 56–72 | Loss | 5–6 |
| June 22 | vs. Chicago | 82–70 | Win | 6–6 |
| June 24 | @ Indiana | 73–78 | Loss | 6–7 |
| June 26 | @ Minnesota | 76–80 | Loss | 6–8 |
| June 28 | vs. New York | 82–78 | Win | 7–8 |
| July 1 | vs. Washington | 87–81 | Win | 8–8 |
| July 3 | @ San Antonio | 67–68 | Loss | 8–9 |
| July 5 | @ Houston | 65–73 | Loss | 8–10 |
| July 8 | vs. Seattle | 64–79 | Loss | 8–11 |
| July 10 | vs. Los Angeles | 87–69 | Win | 9–11 |
| July 12 | vs. Phoenix | 105–97 | Win | 10–11 |
| July 18 | vs. Atlanta | 77–73 | Win | 11–11 |
| July 20 | @ Detroit | 88–85 | Win | 12–11 |
| July 22 | @ Atlanta | 79–66 | Win | 13–11 |
| July 24 | vs. Phoenix | 83–74 | Win | 14–11 |
| July 26 | vs. Indiana | 70–62 | Win | 15–11 |
| July 27 | @ Seattle | 71–77 | Loss | 15–12 |
| August 28 | @ Los Angeles | 63–78 | Loss | 15–13 |
| August 30 | vs. Houston | 80–65 | Win | 16–13 |
| September 5 | @ Phoenix | 69–81 | Loss | 16–14 |
| September 7 | vs. Minnesota | 78–71 | Win | 17–14 |
| September 9 | vs. Seattle | 77–74 | Win | 18–14 |
| September 13 | @ San Antonio | 69–77 | Loss | 18–15 |
| September 15 | @ Houston | 81–90 | Loss | 18–16 |
* September 12 game against Houston was postponed due to Hurricane Ike.

## Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average
* = Indicates team leader
| Player | GP | MIN | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
| Nicole Powell | 34 | 944 | 150 | 46 | 40 | 6 | 463 |
| Kara Lawson | 32 | 829 | 82 | 67 | 28 | 2 | 391 |
| Rebekkah Brunson | 30 | 779 | 213 | 13 | 36 | 20 | 327 |
| Ticha Penicheiro | 33 | 856 | 99 | 172 | 67 | 4 | 284 |
| Crystal Kelly | 33 | 551 | 109 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 243 |
| Adrian Williams-Strong | 34 | 687 | 167 | 20 | 19 | 8 | 207 |
| Scholanda Robinson | 29 | 535 | 32 | 24 | 32 | 6 | 198 |
| Laura Harper | 34 | 560 | 137 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 188 |
| Chelsea Newton | 26 | 393 | 35 | 28 | 30 | 1 | 117 |
| A’Quonesia Franklin | 34 | 351 | 45 | 59 | 16 | 1 | 53 |
| Kim Smith | 21 | | | | | | 33 |
| Charel Allen | 6 | | | | | | 16 |
| La’Tangela Atkinson | 5 | | | | | | 14 |
| DeMya Walker | 7 | | | | | | 11 |

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| Western Conference Semi | September 18 | vs. San Antonio | 78–85 | Loss | 0–1 |
| | September 20 | @ San Antonio | 84–67 | Win | 1–1 |
| | September 22 | @ San Antonio | 81–86 (OT) | Loss | 1–2 |

## Awards and honors

* Rebekkah Brunson, All-WNBA Defensive Second Team
* Ticha Penicheiro, All-WNBA Defensive First Team