# 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.

## Transactions
### 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 |
| April 20, 2001 | Drafted Jackie Moore, Maren Walseth and Katie Smrcka-Duffy in the 2001 WNBA Draft |
| 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 |
| April 30, 2001 | Signed Dana Wynne, Maxann Reese, Monique Ambers and Ryneldi Becenti |
| May 9, 2001 | Waived Katie Smrcka-Duffy |
| May 11, 2001 | Waived Linda Burgess |
| May 24, 2001 | Waived Dana Wynne and Jackie Moore |
| May 27, 2001 | Suspended contract of Yolanda Griffith |
| June 6, 2001 | Waived Monique Ambers |
| June 15, 2001 | Waived Maren Walseth |
| June 26, 2001 | Sonny Allen resigned as Head Coach |
| June 26, 2001 | Hired Maura McHugh as Head Coach |

## Schedule
### Regular season

2001 game log Total: 20–12 (Home: 12–4; Road: 8–8) :
June: 8–6 (Home: 4–3; Road: 4–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
### 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