Monarchs Blog and Q&A

Bee staff writer Melody Gutierrez grew up in Twentynine Palms. At 14-years-old, she decided to combine her two passions -- sports and writing -- when she became a special assignments reporter for the Desert Trail, her hometown weekly newspaper. Melody headed to Northern California in 2000 to attend Chico State and has remained in the region ever since. She earned an internship with The Bee and subsequently became a staff writer in 2004 and has covered virtually every sport, starting with high schools, up through college and then the pros. Melody took over coverage of the Monarchs last season and chronicled the team's pursuit of a second straight league championship -- a quest that fell just short.

Melody welcomes your questions and will answer as many as she can as the season progresses.

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May 29, 2007

Griffith on the mend

Yolanda Griffith participated in the Monarchs shootaround today in Phoenix and appears to be ready for the 7 p.m. tipoff against the Mercury, team officials report.

Griffith sprained her right thumb Thursday and missed Friday's practice. She returned Saturday wearing a splint, but was still able to participate.

The team's trainer, Jill Jackson, has taped Griffith's thumb to provide support for tonight's game. The veteran leader is expected to start at center.

The Monarchs (2-1) will need Griffith to contribute more points than she has thus far this season.

Griffith has spread 16 points across three games, 11 of which were against Washington on May 22. The Monarchs are averaging 66 points a game.

The Mercury (2-1) set a WNBA record in scoring last season, averaging 87.1 points a game. So far this season, Phoenix is averaging 93 points a game and are coming off a 111-85 romp over Houston on Friday.

Posted by Bill Bradley, May 29, 2007 03:39 PM

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