LAS VEGAS – Jenny Boucek was fired as coach of the Monarchs on Sunday, a day after the team fell to an WNBA-worst 3-10.
Former Monarchs coach and current general manager John Whisenant will take over as coach.
Whisenant was the coach of the Monarchs' 2005 WNBA championship team. He stepped down after the team lost in the 2006 Finals to focus on front-office duties and hired Boucek to replace him.
Watching the roster he put together stumble to start the season was enough to get him back on the sideline.
Boucek, 35, was in her third season succeeding Whisenant. The Monarchs reached the playoffs in Boucek's first two seasons, but the team's string of six consecutive playoff appearances is in danger of ending.
Injuries and poor execution – especially on defense – have been problems. The trademark tough defense of years past hasn't been nearly as effective. The Monarchs are allowing 78.9 points per game, fifth-most in the WNBA. Opponents are shooting 44.6 percent against the Monarchs, the second-highest percentage in the league.
Though injuries to Ticha Penicheiro, Kara Lawson and Rebekkah Brunson have impacted the season, Whisenant believes the team shouldn't be at the bottom of the standings.
"I want to thank Jenny for her efforts and contributions over the past two and a half years," Whisenant in a statement. "The team is 3-10 overall; we still have over half the season left and we felt it necessary to make this change. We feel like this is a playoff-caliber team that can compete and to dig ourselves down any further wouldn't be prudent."
Making up ground won't be easy. Of the Monarchs' 10 losses, eight are against Western Conference teams. Sacramento is three games behind San Antonio for the fourth playoff spot in the conference.
Whisenant took over as Monarchs coach during the 2003 season when Maura McHugh was fired and led the team to the first of four consecutive appearances in the Western Conference finals. He compiled a 76-42 record during the regular season and was 19-10 in the postseason.
Boucek was 40-41 as Monarchs coach. She did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.