Monarchs vs. Mercury - 7 p.m. at ARCO Arena - MONTYS Fan Appreciation Night!

1) The Monarchs (19-13) look to keep alive their quest for the second seed in the Western Conference Playoffs tonight in a bout with the Mercury (21-11).

2) The Mercury have been riding the scorching scoring output of Penny Taylor who is coming off a 28 point performance in a win over the LA Sparks. She is averaging more than 18 points per game this season. Last week Taylor's three-game average of more than 27 points per game for the Mercury garnered her, her first ever Western Conference Player of the Week Award.

3) As they have done all summer, the Monarchs win every game by committee. Wednesday, it was backup point guard, Kristin Haynie who stepped up, as she has been known to do in important games. She scored a career-high 14 points including a perfect four of four from downtown to lead the Monarchs back from an 11-point deficit to beat the visiting Silver Stars, 81-74.

4) The Mercury hold a 2-0 record against the Monarchs this summer, but the Monarchs have a chance to even it up with another go-round with the Mercury to close out the regular season on Sunday in Phoenix at 4 p.m. Make sure to catch the action on News10 and Sports 1140 KHTK!

5) Tonight is the Monarchs annual MONTYS Fan Appreciation Night and that means a lot of free stuff will be given away! The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive the Monarchs 2007 team poster and that is just the cusp of the excitement! Ensure your spot in the crowd. A limited number of tickets are still available! Click here to get tickets to tonight's game.

Closing thought...

Playoff picture: If the Monarchs beat Phoenix in both of their remaining matchups and the Silver Stars lose at least one of their last two contests the Monarchs earn the two seed in the Western Conference. Should the Mercury win one of the two games versus the Monarchs, they clinch the one seed in the West and the Monarchs secure the three seed in the West, with San Antonio then the two seed. If the Monarchs win both games against Phoenix and the Silver Stars win their final two games, the Monarchs would then be the three seed and face the Mercury in the first round of the playoffs, while the Silver Stars would then maintain the one seed. One thing is certain, the Seattle Storm is the four seed in the West and they will face, the yet to be determined, one seed in the first round of the 2007 WNBA Western Conference Playoffs.

PLAYOFFS BEGIN NEXT WEEK!
M is for Monarchs! The Monarchs are the only team in the Western Conference to have qualified for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season! Only the Connecticut Sun and Detroit in the Eastern Conference have equaled the feat! Be a part of the Monarchs playoff excitement!
Click here to get tickets now!