Monarchs Get Shock Upset

Where Sacramento Coach John Whisenant saw a “rattlesnake,” Detroit Coach Bill Laimbeer saw only a team that had “lost our brain.”

The defending champion Monarchs never trailed Sunday afternoon at Arco Arena and led the Shock by as many as 27 points in an 89-69 Game 3 victory that put Sacramento within one win of clinching the best-of-five WNBA Finals.

“It was clear before the game started, we were going to be in trouble,” Laimbeer said. “I didn’t think we were ready to play as hard as we had to win a game in their building.... In the middle of this game, we stopped playing. That’s unacceptable behavior for a professional athlete.”

The Detroit coach went on to call center Ruth Riley “overmatched” and said Deanna Nolan, who had a game-high 22 points, “floated” for much of the game.

The Sacramento defense forced 23 turnovers in its third consecutive blowout victory over the Shock in Arco Arena, where the Monarchs have won 11 consecutive playoff games since 2001.

Whisenant warned the Monarchs players about assuming that the Shock is done.

“I think my team believes that we can win, but I just told them it’s like playing with the rattlesnake,” Whisenant said. “You get too close, get overconfident, and they will bite you.”

Yolanda Griffith scored 15 points for the Monarchs, and Nicole Powell had 14.

While Sacramento’s bench outscored Detroit’s reserves 42-17, the Monarchs’ defensive rotations and pressure limited Swin Cash to eight points and Cheryl Ford to 11 points and eight rebounds. Detroit’s Katie Smith, hoping for her first WNBA title, managed nine points and one rebound.

“We were not mentally prepared,” Ford said. “If we were, we wouldn’t have had all those turnovers. The series is not over. We’ve just got to stay positive and stay focused.”

Nolan carried Detroit in the first half, scoring 16 of her points as the Shock fell behind 44-33 at halftime.

During the early stretches, Nolan’s teammates got several tongue-lashings from Laimbeer -- “Who do you think you are?” he shouted during one timeout -- but the deficit steadily grew in the second half.

Laimbeer also blamed the officiating.

Detroit was whistled for 28 fouls to Sacramento’s 23 after the clubs were called for 42 fouls apiece in the first two games combined.