Monarchs strike first

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Lindsay Whalen's presence was a boost to both the Connecticut Sun and the crowd at the Mohegan Sun Arena last night. The 8,157 fans clapped their thundersticks and cheered wildly when Whalen, sporting a black brace on her left knee, was introduced with the rest of the starting lineup for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

Whalen, who hadn't missed a game all season, was injured Saturday in the Sun's semifinal victory. . She was hoping to contribute from her point guard spot while coping with a small fracture in her left knee last night.

But her presence wasn't enough.

The Sacramento Monarchs, led by center Yolanda Griffith's 25 points, defeated the Sun, 69-95, in the first game of the best-of-five championship series. Game 2 is tonight at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

A glum Whalen, who played 25 minutes but scored just 7 points on 3-for-9 shooting, sat in the locker room after the game, her left leg extended on a chair while attached to a mechanical device for cooling and compression.

She wasn't in pain during the game, she said, but admitted she felt rusty.

''It was just getting through that first initial game rush, when I haven't played basketball in four days," she said. ''I kind of got out of rhythm a little bit, so I have to get that back."

The Sun, who beat the Monarchs in both regular-season meetings, led virtually the entire first half and opened up a gap of 7 points (22-15) with nine minutes to play in the half. Connecticut led, 31-27, at the half.

''We had control of the game and we gave it back," said Sun coach Mike Thibault. ''It was pretty even for most the game, but they [outscored us] 17-8 on turnover points." With just under four minutes left, the Sun's Katie Douglas converted a steal for a 59-58 lead, but that was short-lived.

Kara Lawson hit a shot behind the arc to give Sacramento a 66-61 with under two minutes to go, and the Monarchs held on.

Nykesha Sales, who had a team-high 23 points for Connecticut, said the second half was especially a letdown because of the Sun's good start.

''I think we had a lot of energy in the first half and we were doing some really good things," she said. ''But when we came out at halftime, we had a few turnovers that we don't usually have . . . and that made the difference in the game."

Sacramento coach John Whisenant said the game was just first chapter in the meeting of the best team in the East against the best team in the West.

''We said going in here that obviously, before July 1, Connecticut was the better ballclub than us," he said. ''They beat us at our home court and that made the difference in them having home court advantage.

''The question we hoped we could answer was, have we improved more than they have? I'm not certain that we proved that, but the teams are very, very close. Each game, I think, will be a tossup, and tonight we just happened to come out on top."