The 2005 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the
2005 season of the
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...
(WNBA). The
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mona ...
, top-seeded champions of the
Western Conference, defeated the
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The team was established ...
, top-seeded champions of the
Eastern Conference, three games to one in a best-of-five series. This was Sacramento's first title.
The Monarchs made their first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sun appeared in the Finals for the second straight time after having lost to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
in 2004.
Going into the series, neither team had won a WNBA championship. The
Houston Comets
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. They are one of two ...
hold the record with four championships won.
The Sun's 26–8 record gave them
home court advantage
In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to gai ...
over Sacramento (25–9).
Road to the finals
Regular season series
The Sun won the regular season series against the Monarchs:
Game summaries
All times listed below are
Eastern Daylight Time
The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...
.
Game 1
In an electric atmosphere,
Yolanda Griffith
Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball hall of fame player who played in both the ABL and WNBA. A former WNBA MVP, she is considered one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players in the history ...
came through with a powerful performance.
Griffith scored 19 of her 25 points in the second half as the
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mona ...
posted a thrilling 69–65 victory over the
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The team was established ...
in Game 1 of the
WNBA Finals
The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Starting 2016 Verizon is the officia ...
.
An Olympian and
All-Star, Griffith helped the Monarchs make the Sun's home-court advantage useless in what is expected to be a tight best-of-five series.
With the crowd at Connecticut's
Mohegan Sun Arena
The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span. It was built by the Perini Buil ...
on its feet for virtually the entire second half, Griffith showed why she's one of the league's top players.
The 6–4 Griffith had her way near the basket over the final 20 minutes, making 8-of-10 shots. Her three-point play with 2:59 remaining gave the Monarchs a 63–59 lead.
Game 2
Brooke Wyckoff
Brooke Wyckoff (born March 30, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player and current Head Coach at Florida State University. Florida State announced this on March 29, 2022 after the departure of Coach Sue Semrau
A 6'1" forward ...
gave the desperate
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The team was established ...
a leg to stand on.
Wyckoff's 3-pointer with two seconds left tied the game and the Sun pitched a shutout in overtime as they evened the
WNBA Finals
The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Starting 2016 Verizon is the officia ...
with a 77–70 victory over the mistake-prone
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mona ...
.
Playing without injured star point guard
Lindsay Whalen
Lindsay Marie Whalen (born May 9, 1982) is the head coach of the University of Minnesota's women's basketball team.
She began her professional career as a point guard for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) ...
, the Sun were seconds away from an 0–2 deficit but got back in the best-of-five series. Games 3 and 4 are Sunday and Tuesday at Sacramento.
Perhaps Connecticut's best player, Whalen sat out with a non-displaced fracture of her left tibia and a sprained left ankle.
Whalen watched helplessly from the bench as two free throws each from
DeMya Walker
DeMya Chakheia Walker (born November 28, 1977) is a professional basketball player from the United States.
High school
Walker was born and grew up in Mount Holly, New Jersey, where she attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School and she set s ...
and
Kara Lawson
Kara Marie Lawson (born February 14, 1981) is the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team. She is a former American professional women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a basketball t ...
gave Sacramento a 70–67 lead with 8.6 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, the Sun inbounded to
Katie Douglas, who momentarily held the ball but was not fouled by the Monarchs. She passed inside the arc to
Taj McWilliams-Franklin
Taj McWilliams-Franklin (born October 20, 1970) is a former American professional women's basketball player.
A two-time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx and six-time all-star, McWilliams-Franklin's professional career has ...
, who drew inexplicable help defense from
Ticha Penicheiro
Patrícia Nunes "Ticha" Penicheiro, OIH (September 18, 1974) is a Portuguese sports agent and former basketball player. She played for the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA for most of her professional career. She was a four-time WNBA All-Star an ...
.
McWilliams-Franklin passed to the right corner to an open Wyckoff, whose shot splashed through to force overtime and bring a roar from the crowd at
Mohegan Sun Arena
The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features of configurable exhibition space and a clear span. It was built by the Perini Buil ...
.
Game 3
The
[Connecticut Sun rallied within a basket before the
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mona ...
moved within one win of a WNBA title.
Yolanda Griffith
Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball hall of fame player who played in both the ABL and WNBA. A former WNBA MVP, she is considered one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players in the history ...
had 19 points and 11 rebounds and the Monarchs withstood a comeback by the Sun in a 66–55 victory that gave them a 2–1 lead in the
WNBA Finals
The WNBA Finals are the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the league's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002. Starting 2016 Verizon is the officia ...
.
The Monarchs, who lost Game 2 in overtime after allowing a tying 3-pointer before the regulation buzzer, can claim their first championship with a win in Game 4 of the best-of-five series.
Griffith had a pair of baskets in a 9–0 burst that gave Sacramento its largest lead at 50–36 with just over 12 minutes to play. However, Connecticut used a 12–0 surge to get back in the game.
Two free throws by
Nykesha Sales
Nykesha Simone Sales (born May 10, 1976) is an American assistant coach at the University of Georgia. She is a former professional basketball player in the WNBA, as well as playing in the Bosnian league for the ZKK Mladi Krajisnik club. Her prim ...
, who scored 17 points, made it 57–55 with 3:16 left. But those were the last points for the Sun, who appeared to wilt down the stretch.
After
Kara Lawson
Kara Marie Lawson (born February 14, 1981) is the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils women's basketball team. She is a former American professional women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and a basketball t ...
went backdoor for a layup,
Jamie Carey
Jamie Leigh Carey (born March 12, 1981 in Hutchinson, Kansas) is a former professional basketball player, playing the point guard position for the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA until her retirement in 2009. Carey currently serves as the Assi ...
missed a fast-break layup and Sales missed underneath.
Ticha Penicheiro
Patrícia Nunes "Ticha" Penicheiro, OIH (September 18, 1974) is a Portuguese sports agent and former basketball player. She played for the Sacramento Monarchs in the WNBA for most of her professional career. She was a four-time WNBA All-Star an ...
split a pair of free throws for a 60–55 lead with 59 seconds to go.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin
Taj McWilliams-Franklin (born October 20, 1970) is a former American professional women's basketball player.
A two-time WNBA champion with the Detroit Shock and Minnesota Lynx and six-time all-star, McWilliams-Franklin's professional career has ...
had 16 points and 13 boards for the Sun, who committed 16 turnovers and made just 10-of-19 free throws.
Connecticut All-Star guard
Lindsay Whalen
Lindsay Marie Whalen (born May 9, 1982) is the head coach of the University of Minnesota's women's basketball team.
She began her professional career as a point guard for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) ...
, who sat out Game 2 with knee and ankle injuries, returned but managed just two points and two assists with five turnovers in 23 minutes.
Game 4
It took nine years, but the
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mona ...
can finally call themselves WNBA royalty.
The Monarchs won their first WNBA title, riding All-Star
Yolanda Griffith
Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball hall of fame player who played in both the ABL and WNBA. A former WNBA MVP, she is considered one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players in the history ...
and rallying for a frantic 62–59 victory over the hard-luck
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
The team was established ...
.
An original WNBA franchise, the Monarchs won the best-of-five series in four games. They went 7–1 in the postseason, losing only Game 2 of this series in overtime at Connecticut.
Sacramento trailed by 11 points in the first half and led by 10 in the second half before the game came down to a final shot. With a chance to tie the game,
Nykesha Sales
Nykesha Simone Sales (born May 10, 1976) is an American assistant coach at the University of Georgia. She is a former professional basketball player in the WNBA, as well as playing in the Bosnian league for the ZKK Mladi Krajisnik club. Her prim ...
fired an airball on a 3-pointer, allowing
ARCO Arena to finally celebrate.
A former
WNBA MVP
The Women's National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season -- 1997. MVP voting takes place immediately following the regular s ...
and the team leader, Griffith had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double. She averaged 18.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in the series and was named
Finals MVP.
Awards
*2005 WNBA Champion:
Sacramento Monarchs
The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena.
The Mona ...
*
Finals MVP:
Yolanda Griffith
Yolanda Evette Griffith (born March 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball hall of fame player who played in both the ABL and WNBA. A former WNBA MVP, she is considered one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players in the history ...
Rosters
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{{NBA on ABC
Finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
Sacramento Monarchs
2005 in sports in California
2005 in sports in Connecticut
Women's National Basketball Association Finals
Connecticut Sun
September 2005 sports events in the United States
21st century in Sacramento, California
Sports competitions in California
Sports competitions in Connecticut
Women's sports in Connecticut