http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/20903.html
Ailene Voisin: The reign is over
Monarchs go cold, abdicate in Detroit
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Sports Columnist
Last Updated 1:00 am PDT Sunday, September 10, 2006
DETROIT -- When exactly did the Monarchs relinquish their WNBA championship? Was it during the Game 2 meltdown at the Palace? The inexcusable effort in Game 4 at Arco Arena? The third quarter collapse Saturday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena?
Three chances and no ring.
They couldn't defend their title, and when it mattered most, they couldn't score.
Instead, they returned to Sacramento as the former defending champs, lugging their considerable baggage and staring into a future that -- given the harsh manner of their demise -- necessitates significant changes. They need depth in the low post. They need DeMya Walker to shed weight and recapture her 2005 All-Star form. They need to adapt on offense and on defense, and most notably, they need young Kristin Haynie scoring and creating, attacking and distributing, and in essence, swiping minutes and duties from classy point guard Ticha Penicheiro.
The transition begins today.
The better team prevailed because the Monarchs failed to finish off the newly crowned Detroit Shock when they had the opportunity -- all three of them -- but also because Bill Laimbeer exploited his opponent's most significant weakness, namely, the fact that Penicheiro can't shoot. Or doesn't think she can shoot.
"It becomes psychological," Monarchs coach John Whisenant said quietly. "Ticha can make all those midrange shots in practice, but she doesn't believe she can make them in the game. That lets teams guard us five-on-four. It's a chicken/egg thing for me. The first three times (Detroit's Deanna) Nolan had the ball, with Haynie guarding her, she scored. So I can always look back and say, 'Should I have given Haynie more minutes and Ticha less to get more scoring?' "
And the answer is ... yes.
While Whisenant remains a master at second-guessing, easing Haynie into a more prominent role should be a bloodless coup. Those five-on-four numbers no longer add up. The days of succeeding with zero offensive production from a starting point guard are history. The skill level in the WNBA has leaped over the backboard since Penicheiro entered the league in 1998. The answer is in the fancy, fundamental footwork, the leaning, off-balance jumpers, the slithery one-handed drives of Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Temeka Johnson, or as Nolan, Katie Smith and Kara Lawson demonstrated repeatedly in the series finale, in dazzlingly quick three-pointers in transition.
And, yes, in the struggles of Penicheiro during the opening moments of that disastrous third quarter, when the Monarchs' eight-point lead evaporated faster than water in a desert.
She missed a 15-footer. She forced a 12-foot bank shot. She missed another 15-footer. She watched in frustration as the Shock capitalized with a flurry of fastbreaks.
"We started panicking, making bad decisions," said a visibly crushed Penicheiro, her eyes red-rimmed, her 1-for-8 misery glaring from a stat sheet on the floor. "We made mistakes defensively, too. It's the same thing we did in Game 2."
The Monarchs had one more run left in them, managed one final desperate rally. Lawson stole passes and stroked three's. Nicole Powell muscled for six rebounds. Yolanda Griffith deflected balls and provided second shots. And Haynie, a deceptively quick 5-foot-9 guard who grew up just north of here, did a little bit of everything as she has throughout this series, anticipating and intercepting passes, ball-faking defenders and launching three's, connecting with Lawson and Powell, stealthily probing the lane, desperately trying to generate offense for teammates around the basket.
But it was too late, the Shock's interior defenders too stifling, their arms enveloping Griffith and befuddling Walker, who committed three turnovers and missed all seven of her field goal attempts in the second half.
"They defended our deep shooters and doubled on our post (players)," noted Whisenant, "to make it difficult for them to score."
Which should prompt the offseason discussion about Penicheiro, an unrestricted free agent who turns 32 next week. Ideally the longtime Monarch returns and, among other things, tutors the younger Haynie, especially on defense. It was almost exactly a year ago, remember, that Penicheiro's consecutive steals off Connecticut's Margo Dydek secured the momentum in the Monarchs' clinching title victory at Arco Arena.
Times change, though, and so does the game. Starting point guards on defense-oriented teams can't shoot 29 percent in a best-of-five series championship series. Those days are history.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
Ailene Voisin: The reign is over
Monarchs go cold, abdicate in Detroit
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Sports Columnist
Last Updated 1:00 am PDT Sunday, September 10, 2006
DETROIT -- When exactly did the Monarchs relinquish their WNBA championship? Was it during the Game 2 meltdown at the Palace? The inexcusable effort in Game 4 at Arco Arena? The third quarter collapse Saturday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena?
Three chances and no ring.
They couldn't defend their title, and when it mattered most, they couldn't score.
Instead, they returned to Sacramento as the former defending champs, lugging their considerable baggage and staring into a future that -- given the harsh manner of their demise -- necessitates significant changes. They need depth in the low post. They need DeMya Walker to shed weight and recapture her 2005 All-Star form. They need to adapt on offense and on defense, and most notably, they need young Kristin Haynie scoring and creating, attacking and distributing, and in essence, swiping minutes and duties from classy point guard Ticha Penicheiro.
The transition begins today.
The better team prevailed because the Monarchs failed to finish off the newly crowned Detroit Shock when they had the opportunity -- all three of them -- but also because Bill Laimbeer exploited his opponent's most significant weakness, namely, the fact that Penicheiro can't shoot. Or doesn't think she can shoot.
"It becomes psychological," Monarchs coach John Whisenant said quietly. "Ticha can make all those midrange shots in practice, but she doesn't believe she can make them in the game. That lets teams guard us five-on-four. It's a chicken/egg thing for me. The first three times (Detroit's Deanna) Nolan had the ball, with Haynie guarding her, she scored. So I can always look back and say, 'Should I have given Haynie more minutes and Ticha less to get more scoring?' "
And the answer is ... yes.
While Whisenant remains a master at second-guessing, easing Haynie into a more prominent role should be a bloodless coup. Those five-on-four numbers no longer add up. The days of succeeding with zero offensive production from a starting point guard are history. The skill level in the WNBA has leaped over the backboard since Penicheiro entered the league in 1998. The answer is in the fancy, fundamental footwork, the leaning, off-balance jumpers, the slithery one-handed drives of Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Temeka Johnson, or as Nolan, Katie Smith and Kara Lawson demonstrated repeatedly in the series finale, in dazzlingly quick three-pointers in transition.
And, yes, in the struggles of Penicheiro during the opening moments of that disastrous third quarter, when the Monarchs' eight-point lead evaporated faster than water in a desert.
She missed a 15-footer. She forced a 12-foot bank shot. She missed another 15-footer. She watched in frustration as the Shock capitalized with a flurry of fastbreaks.
"We started panicking, making bad decisions," said a visibly crushed Penicheiro, her eyes red-rimmed, her 1-for-8 misery glaring from a stat sheet on the floor. "We made mistakes defensively, too. It's the same thing we did in Game 2."
The Monarchs had one more run left in them, managed one final desperate rally. Lawson stole passes and stroked three's. Nicole Powell muscled for six rebounds. Yolanda Griffith deflected balls and provided second shots. And Haynie, a deceptively quick 5-foot-9 guard who grew up just north of here, did a little bit of everything as she has throughout this series, anticipating and intercepting passes, ball-faking defenders and launching three's, connecting with Lawson and Powell, stealthily probing the lane, desperately trying to generate offense for teammates around the basket.
But it was too late, the Shock's interior defenders too stifling, their arms enveloping Griffith and befuddling Walker, who committed three turnovers and missed all seven of her field goal attempts in the second half.
"They defended our deep shooters and doubled on our post (players)," noted Whisenant, "to make it difficult for them to score."
Which should prompt the offseason discussion about Penicheiro, an unrestricted free agent who turns 32 next week. Ideally the longtime Monarch returns and, among other things, tutors the younger Haynie, especially on defense. It was almost exactly a year ago, remember, that Penicheiro's consecutive steals off Connecticut's Margo Dydek secured the momentum in the Monarchs' clinching title victory at Arco Arena.
Times change, though, and so does the game. Starting point guards on defense-oriented teams can't shoot 29 percent in a best-of-five series championship series. Those days are history.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
