1997 Sacramento Monarchs season

1997 Sacramento Monarchs season
Head Coach	Mary Murphy and Heidi VanDerveer
Arena	ARCO Arena
Attendance	7,858 per game
Results Record 10–18 (.357) Place 3rd (Western) Playoff Finish Did not qualify Sacramento Monarchs seasons < 1996 1998 >

The 1997 WNBA season was the inaugural season for the Sacramento Monarchs.

Offseason

Initial Player Allocation

Pick	Player	Nationality	WNBA Team	College/HS/Club Team
13	Ruthie Bolton-Holifield (G)	United States	Sacramento Monarchs	Auburn
14	Bridgette Gordon (F)	United States	Sacramento Monarchs	Tennessee

^[1]

WNBA Elite Draft

Pick	Player	Nationality	WNBA Team	College/HS/Club Team
6	Judy Mosley-McAfee (F)	United States	Sacramento Monarchs	Hawaii
14	Mikiko Hagiwara (G)	Japan	Sacramento Monarchs	Japan

WNBA Draft

Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/HS/Club Team
2	Pamela McGee	Center	United States	Southern California

^[2]

Regular season

Season standings

Western Conference	W	L	PCT	Conf.	GB
Phoenix Mercury ^x	16	12	.571	9–3	–
Los Angeles Sparks ^o	14	14	.500	8–4	2.0
Sacramento Monarchs ^o	10	18	.357	4–8	6.0
Utah Starzz ^o	7	21	.250	3–9	9.0

Season schedule

Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Record
June 21	@ Utah	70-60	Win	1-0
June 23	New York	62-73	Loss	1-1
June 26	Charlotte	78-70	Win	2-1
June 27	@ Los Angeles	73-93	Loss	2-2
July 2	Utah	68-73 (OT)	Loss	2-3
July 6	Cleveland	70-67	Win	3-3
July 7	@ Utah	79-69	Win	4-3
July 10	@ Cleveland	61-77	Loss	4-4
July 12	@ Houston	61-89	Loss	4-5
July 15	Los Angeles	78-73	Win	5-5
July 16	@ Phoenix	67-84	Loss	5-6
July 18	Houston	60-82	Loss	5-7
July 21	Phoenix	57-70	Loss	5-8
July 25	Houston	76-86	Loss	5-9
July 27	Los Angeles	62-84	Loss	5-10
July 30	@ New York	68-73 (OT)	Loss	5-11
August 1	@ Charlotte	61-85	Loss	5-12
August 2	@ Cleveland	51-72	Loss	5-13
August 4	@ Phoenix	60-83	Loss	5-14
August 6	Charlotte	77-64	Win	6-14
August 8	Utah	93-78	Win	7-14
August 10	New York	76-69	Win	8-14
August 12	Cleveland	81-76	Win	9-14
August 14	@ Charlotte	51-68	Loss	9-15
August 15	@ New York	63-79	Loss	9-16
August 20	Phoenix	54-69	Loss	9-17
August 22	@ Los Angeles	77-88	Loss	9-18
August 24	@ Houston	68-58	Win	10-18

Player stats

• Ruthie Bolton ranked second in the WNBA in points with 447 points.
• Ruthie Bolton ranked third in the WNBA in field goals with 164.
• Ruthie Bolton ranked fourth in the WNBA in Minutes per game with 35.3
• Ruthie Bolton ranked second in the WNBA in points per game with 19.4
• Ruthie Bolton was tied for sixth in the WNBA in steals with 54.
• Latasha Byears ranked fifth in the WNBA in total rebounds with 193
• Latasha Byears ranked ninth in the WNBA in Field Goal Percentage (.459)
• Bridgette Gordon ranked first in the WNBA in Minutes per game with 35.0
• Bridgette Gordon ranked ninth in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .785
• Pamela McGee ranked eighth in the WNBA in Field Goal Percentage (.460)
• Chantel Tremitiere was tied for sixth in the WNBA in steals with 54.
• Chantel Tremitiere ranked first in the WNBA in Minutes per game with 37.5

^[3]

Awards and honors

• Ruthie Bolton: Led WNBA, 3-Pt Field Goal Attempts, 192
• Ruthie Bolton: Second in WNBA, 3-Pt Field Goals, 66
• Latasha Byears: Led WNBA, Offensive Rebounds, 87
• Chantel Tremitiere: Led WNBA, Minutes Played 1051
• Chantel Tremitiere: Led WNBA, Turnovers, 122
• Chantel Tremitiere: Led WNBA, Minutes per game, 37.5

^[3]

References

1. http://www.wnba.com/history/alltime_draft_list.html
2. http://www.wnba.com/history/monarchs_draft_history.html
3. http://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/years/1997.html

External links

• Monarchs on Basketball Reference